The BMW 3 series Compact was launched in 1993 as an affordable alternative to the BMW 3 series saloon and was the car that started the premium hatchback class to rival the Golf, Focus etc. and the car that got Audi on board with the A3.
This smallish car, about 4210mm in length was available initially only with 4 cylinder engines from the 3 series and later received one 6 cylinder engined model, the 323Ti with 125kw (170PS) as the top model.
Many people were of course wondering whether BMW would bring out more powerful versions hoping to give the car a rival for hot hatches such as the Golf R32 4 Motion, but unfortunately this never happened.
Well to the production car world there was no rival but to the delight of some enthusiasts and to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the magazine Auto Motor und Sport in 1996, BMW M hand built one example of a special version of the Compact that incorporated all the technical aspects of the E36 BMW M3 coupe. This hand built car was noticeable for its powertrain of the legendary 236kW (321PS) and 350NM straight six 3.2ltr engine from the M3 coupe with 5 speed manual gearbox, unique quad exhausts, subtle boot spoiler, M3 coupe mag wheels, Recaro sports seats, 4 point seat belts as well as alcantara covered steering wheel and gear lever.
It was also 150kg lighter and more agile than the M3 coupe and this resulted in some blistering performance figures at the time, as per AMS 0-100km/h in just 5.3sec, 0-160km/h in 11.4sec and 0-200km/h in a blistering 18.5sec. To put those performance figures into perspective, the latest BMW M135i (pre-facelift model with 235kw (320PS) engine and 8 speed auto) was tested by AMS in 2013, it achieved 0-100km/h in 4.9sec, 0-160km/h in 11.5sec and 0-200km/h in 18.1sec. So this car was a phenomenal achievement considering it was designed 19years ago!
This smallish car, about 4210mm in length was available initially only with 4 cylinder engines from the 3 series and later received one 6 cylinder engined model, the 323Ti with 125kw (170PS) as the top model.
Many people were of course wondering whether BMW would bring out more powerful versions hoping to give the car a rival for hot hatches such as the Golf R32 4 Motion, but unfortunately this never happened.
Well to the production car world there was no rival but to the delight of some enthusiasts and to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the magazine Auto Motor und Sport in 1996, BMW M hand built one example of a special version of the Compact that incorporated all the technical aspects of the E36 BMW M3 coupe. This hand built car was noticeable for its powertrain of the legendary 236kW (321PS) and 350NM straight six 3.2ltr engine from the M3 coupe with 5 speed manual gearbox, unique quad exhausts, subtle boot spoiler, M3 coupe mag wheels, Recaro sports seats, 4 point seat belts as well as alcantara covered steering wheel and gear lever.
It was also 150kg lighter and more agile than the M3 coupe and this resulted in some blistering performance figures at the time, as per AMS 0-100km/h in just 5.3sec, 0-160km/h in 11.4sec and 0-200km/h in a blistering 18.5sec. To put those performance figures into perspective, the latest BMW M135i (pre-facelift model with 235kw (320PS) engine and 8 speed auto) was tested by AMS in 2013, it achieved 0-100km/h in 4.9sec, 0-160km/h in 11.5sec and 0-200km/h in 18.1sec. So this car was a phenomenal achievement considering it was designed 19years ago!
