When the era of the M1 drew to an end, the BMW M3 entered the scene in 1986. With the launch of this compact two-door car, BMW followed for the first time a consistent path of parallel development of production and motor sport cars: The road version, 5,000 units of which had to be made available within one year to gain approval as a touring car, was designed, right from scratch, in such a way as to meet racing car requirements. It was tailor-made to A group specifications.
All this resulted in a triumph for BMW. Right from the beginning, the snow-white racing car in the typical BMW Motorsport colours scooped huge numbers of trophies, victories and titles: Driving the M3, Roberto Ravaglia from Italy won the Touring Car World Championship in 1987. This was the first and only world title bestowed in this vehicle category.
The high-performance saloon, whose four-cylinder four-valve engine produced a maximum output of 195 bhp, featured a catalytic converter as standard. It set the course of future motor sport. In the following five years the M3 dominated the touring car racing scene and became one of the most successful touring cars. Also, the road version achieved undreamt-of sales figures, with more than 17,100 units of the first M3 sold. Due to this outstanding success of the most sporting BMW 3 Series car, it did not come as a surprise that the M3 interpretation recurred in later generations of the BMW 3 Series.
| type | Series Production Car |
| built at | Germany |
| price $ | $ 34,000 |
| engine | Water Cooled, Inline-4 |
| valvetrain | DOHC, 4 Valves per Cyl |
| displacement | 2302 cc / 140.5 in³ |
| bore | 93.4 mm / 3.68 in |
| stroke | 84.0 mm / 3.31 in |
| compression | 10.5:1 |
| power | 143.2 kw / 192.0 bhp @ 6750 rpm |
| specific output | 83.41 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | 147.69 bhp per tonne |
| torque | 230.5 nm / 170.0 ft lbs @ 4750 rpm |
| body / frame | Unit Steel |
| driven wheels | Front Engine / RWD |
| front tires | 205/55VR-16 |
| rear tires | 205/55VR-16 |
| front brakes | Vented Discs w/Vacuum Assist & ABS |
| front wheels | F 38.1 x 17.8 cm / 15.0 x 7.0 in |
| rear wheels | R 38.1 x 17.8 cm / 15.0 x 7.0 in |
| steering | Rack & Pinion w/Power Assist |
| f suspension | MacPherson Struts w/Coils Springs, Anti-Roll Bar |
| r suspension | Semi-Traling Arm w/Coils Springs, Anti-Roll Bar |
| curb weight | 1300 kg / 2866 lbs |
| wheelbase | 2565 mm / 101.0 in |
| front track | 1412 mm / 55.6 in |
| rear track | 1425 mm / 56.1 in |
| length | 4346 mm / 171.1 in |
| width | 1679 mm / 66.1 in |
| height | 1369 mm / 53.9 in |
| transmission | 5-Speed Manual |
| gear ratios | 3.83:1, 2.20:1, 1.40:1, 1.00:1, 0.81:1 |
| final drive | 4.10:1 |
| top speed | ~228.5 kph / 142.0 mph |
| 0 – 60 mph | ~7.0 seconds |
| 0 – 100 mph | ~19.8 seconds |
| 0 – 1/4 mile | ~15.4 second |
