Supra!
4DR BMW M3 Rocket
This week’s car crush is relatively attainable. Well, it might cost an arm and a leg, but at least the family driver could practically own one without causing too much jangling discord on the school run.
BMW aspirational mainstay receives a lot of flak by the Clarksonian brand of car crit. But we reckon this is simply because of its ubiquity; which is of course in turn based on its practical brilliance.
When Beemer unveiled the latest version, the CRT (standing for Carbon Race Technology), there wasn’t that much hoo-haa. But, despite that, it remains a little bit special.
The BMW M3 CRT embodies a concentrated blend of state-of-the-art development expertise – inspired directly by motor sport – in the areas of drive system and chassis technology and intelligent lightweight design.
It also represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in the automotive industry. Its V8 engine has the customary M car’s high-revving characteristics and a maximum output of 331 kW/450 hp. Pullaway from 0 to 100 km/h is just 4.4 seconds.
This is because of its power to weight ratio is a stunning 3.5KG per horsepower. That means it’s nearly 70 KG lighter than the normal M3.
There’s only 67 of them to be made, and it’s expensive, but hey. It’s got four doors!
It’s the little detailing differences that we really dig, however. There’s something dashingly, subtly assertive about it, and that’s why this particular M3 has got us looking into finance options. Perchance to dream.
INTEGRALE: EVERYMAN SUPERCAR
In 1987 Lancia launched in the first Delta Integrale a car that cost the same as a high-end Rover but could run down a Porsche 911. Speed freaks of that much maligned decade were afroth.
The Integrale represented brilliant bang for bucks. The years have been good to the Integrale’s brutal aesthetic too. Not only do they look like they could eat an M3 for breakfast (and they could stay with them for the first few hundred yards at least), they look a good bet to appreciate in value.
We caught up with Steve Pilgrim, Bristol-based IT consultant and passionate owner of an Integrale Evo II. Just what is it about the Integrale that floats his boat?
Influx Magazine: Why Integrale?
Steve Pilgrim: It was the hot-hatch that I could never afford when I was younger (I had
an MG Metro) – to buy or insure (it’s group 18). I also loved Sega Rally
(still play it whenever I can find it!).
IM: What essentially Italian qualities do you think the car has?
SP: The design : a luxury 80’s hatchback that is very pretty – but was
transformed into a rally car and whilst having the functionality still
remains beautiful (and brutal). If people know what it is they love it . If they don’t know then they
wonder what it is (usually a Golf).
IM: What is she like on the limit?
SP: Wonderful! It’s the feeling of being so connected with the car
and the road (all the cliches are generally true). I was very careful when
I first got her as bodyparts are hard to come by. eBay or a few
specialist dealers are your only option.
IM: Is she a keeper?
SP: She’s a keeper alright. It doesn’t age in style. It’s a timeless classic and stops me wanting anything else. I’ve had her nearly five years and we’ve enjoyed trips and events around the country. The Lancia Centenary Celebrations in Turin were the highlight.
Delta Evolution: Fact File
• Original design was based on the Fiat Strada/Ritmo by Giorgetto Giugiaro
• The same car was also sold in Sweden by Saab, who had a hand in its design, explaining why it was less likely to rust than other Lancias. It was branded as a Saab 600 in Sweden
• In 1985 Lancia supercharged and turbocharged the Delta to create the Delta S4, which boasted 480 bhp. It was raced for a year before the Group B rally category was scrapped by the FIA, arguing that the cars used were too fast and so too dangerous
• In 1987 Lancia released the HF 4WD for the new rally season
• 1987 saw work start on the first Integrale, with the existing 2.0 litre engine tweaked to produce 185 bhp, 0-60 in 6.6 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph, which combined Group A race technology with a road car
• In 1989 the 16V version was released, storming rally circuits in 1989, 1990 and 1991, as well as performing well as a road car
• 1991 Lancia pull out of the world rally circuit
Evo II (1993)
• Three-way catalytic converter
• New Garrett turbocharger
• twin overhead camshafts driven by toothed belt
• four valves per cylinder
• 16″ light alloy rims
• Body colour roof moulding
• New leather-covered three-spoke MOMO steering wheel
• Recaro seats upholstered in beige Alcantara with diagonal stitching
• Aluminium fuel cap and air-intake grilles on the front mudguards designed to increase airflow
• Top speed137 mph
• 0-60 in 5.6 seconds
• All 4223 cars produced were left hand drive
– See more at: http://www.influx.co.uk/wordpress/features/integrale-everyman-supercar/#sthash.BD4QK8iG.dpuf
BMW: A HOMAGE TO M3
BMW M3
The Ultimate Driving Machine…
It was a slogan BMW once slathered across the majority of its marketing material. A slogan that would now struggle to add gravitas to the likes of the bloated X5, the awkwardly-styled 3 Series GT or the barge-like 7 Series, but one that remains credible thanks to one car: the BMW M3.
The F80 designation looks crisp in Yas Marina blue…
It is not often that a vehicle comes along and slashes the rulebook clean in two but in 1986 – when the E30 BMW M3 Coupe was first available for public consumption – it did just that. Brandishing pure racing performance thanks to BMW’s motor sport division and a boot that could swallow even the biggest C&A shopping trip, it was a freak of nature; One of the original Q cars that could be comfortably driven everyday but also thrash the pants off a Porsche should the need arise.
It was on my wall, next to a jet black Lamborghini Countach.
The E46 CSL coupé defined the genre….
But unlike the Countach, it whispered rather than bellowed into the ears of those who desired high performance. After all, then BMW chairman of the board Eberhard von Kuenheim simply wanted to slot a spicy engine into his beloved 3 Series, fettle the damping a bit and make sure the brakes didn’t fade after a few hot laps, not create a supercar.
But even Kuenheim couldn’t have predicted just how delicious his recipe was to taste.
My first bite of the M3 masterpiece wasn’t to come until 14 years after the original car graced UK roads. The E36 M3 had already arrived and riled fans by ditching the favoured four-pot engine of the E30 and ballooning in weight, but that was in the past. The E46 was now here and it was a belter.
A friend of mine had a father who was brazenly reckless with cash and harboured a soft spot for ludicrously quick coupes. He once turned up to my house in a brand new E46 M3 CSL – a lightweight range-topper that not only cost £60,000 at the time but also hid a 3.2-litre straight six under the bonnet. My mum commented on the nice car sat on our driveway but she didn’t have a clue about the cutting-edge flappy paddle gearbox, the carbon fibre roof and precision-cut lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels.
I did and I was physically salivating at the thought of strapping into the lightweight bucket seats.
The profligate pops floored the CSL as soon as we left the 30mph roads of my estate. All three of us (my mate was hunkered in the back) squirmed with the ferocity of acceleration and above the induction roar of the almighty engine, the old man could be heard rattling off figures. “It weighs under 1400kg!” he beamed. “Nought to sixty in under five lads!” he exclaimed. We rounded a bend and I felt the tail of the car step out. Naturally, I went to grab the nearest handle but there wasn’t one on this pared-back machine. My friend’s dad laughed his head off.
That outing had me hooked. I swore to learn to drive the following year (I didn’t, I bought a motorbike instead) and I vowed to experience that aural battering and accelerative ass whooping for myself, be it through owning an M3 (unlikely) or by becoming a motoring journalist and borrowing one (yeah, that).
The M4 Coupe pushes the form forward…
Driving a modern M3 remains a special experience. The squat stance and aggressive styling is the first thing to smack you between the eyes. It isn’t lairy like its Germanic rivals – the Audi RS4 and the Mercedes C63 AMG – but instead remains relatively faithful to the original Q car understatement.
The bulging ‘Power Dome’ on the bonnet that accommodates the engine alludes to its neck-snapping intent and the trademark flared wheel-arches, M-badged side strakes and bonnet scoops provide reference points for those in the know. My first drive in an E46 didn’t fail to disappoint. The Welsh A and B-roads more commonly known as the Evo triangle provided the perfect canvas for some automotive tomfoolery, evoking memories of that gut-wrenching acceleration I’d experienced years before.
I’ve also visited the roads of my youth in an E90 M3; flooring the accelerator on the exact same stretch I first experienced the awesome pulling power of the CSL. It felt as good as it did 14 years ago.
My friend tells me his old man has been divorced twice since that first driving experience but one thing remains the same.
He still owns a BMW M3.
ALFA TZ3 CORSA LOVE STRUCK
Not sure how we missed it at the time, but back in April at the exceedingly posh Villa D’Este car show, an incredible one-off special was announced that celebrated Alfa’s 100th year.
Just as well we didn’t spot it at the time, because we would have spend a whole summer lusting hopelessly after this beauty, mind-driving it through the workaday motoring moments of the week. The collaboration between Alfa and Zagato has always for us been a lovely bit of car-type cooperation, both the original TZ and the TZ2 being gorgeous pieces of breadvan-like sleekitude – crossed of course with the angular quirk of the Zagato pen.
The TZ3 Corsa is a one off built by Zagato for jammy git car collector Martin Kapp, and no, you will never own one. It is, however, based on the already otherworldly 8C Compezione, but has a super light weight carbon frame and that hand-wrought steel panel loveliness that the Z-cars are known for.
Fast, light and incredible to behold. It’s tuesday, I’m in Love.
PORSCHE @ TARGA FLORIO TRIBUTE…
Two things in Motorsport go together particularly beautifully: Targa Florio and Porsche.
The long defunct, fatally dangerous and aesthetically beautiful Sicilian endurance race may have gone the way of the Dodo as far back as 1977, but it lives forever in the imagination.
Like its cousin the Mille Miglia the colour, sound and power of the Targa is burned into the cortex of anyone who cares about cars, style and aesthetics.
The video below was put together by an Italian aficionado of the race – and kindly bounced to us for context.
The sunburst liveried Porsche 908/3 – the short wheel base endurance racer perfect for the twists of the mountains is the one raced by Vic Elford in the 1970 event – and is, we think you’ll agree – typically evocative of the emotions inspired by the cars that competed around this time and this place.
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