When talking about BMW M cars, the M3 is regarded as the most fun-to-drive among the bunch – a trait shared across all its five generations. They’re nimble and handle like how a powerful small car should be. However, which among the five generations of the BMW M3 is the fastest in a quarter mile drag race?
CarWow's Mat Watson got the same idea and pit four generations of the BMW M3 in a drag strip. For some reason, though, they weren’t able to get a hold of the E36 M3, which is the first of its kind to be equipped with a six-cylinder engine.
Next-gen M3 coming:
Aboard the E92 GTS, all four cars race in standing quarter mile and rolling start races. We won’t spoil who won but let’s go deep into the specs of each car so you would have an idea as to which has the upper hand.
Starting from where it all began, the oldest of the bunch is the E30 M3, which debuted in 1986. What CarWow has, however, is a slightly newer and limited edition version – one of the 25 Roberto Ravaglia models in the U.K. Powered by a 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine, it produces 215 bhp.
Skipping the E36, the next in line is the 2003 E46 M3 CSL. It’s another limited edition model, one among 500 examples worldwide. It’s more powerful and 110 kilograms lighter than standard M3s. Its 3.2-litre inline-six engine produces 365 bhp.
The E92 GTS, on the other hand, has the biggest engine displacement among all four cars. It has a 4.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8 under its bonnet, allowing it to produce up to 450 bhp. It was debuted in 2011, with only 50 examples of the GTS versions released in the U.K.
No matter how powerful the E92 GTS is, the current model, the F80 M3 CS, has the most caliber under its bonnet. With its 460-bhp 3.0-litre straight-six twin-turbo, would it smoke out the older generations of the M3 in the video?
Source: CarWow via Youtube
Gallery: BMW M3 CS
