Euro Auto Repair Fast Fact
The BMW Z3 M, on paper, is hopeless. To most people it’s ugly, it’s small and it’s certainly not very practical. The cars nickname is literally the Clown Shoe. Where it matters the most, on the road, you can feel its driving brilliance though. With its strong identity and iconic design it has definitely made its impression on car enthusiasts.
The Z3 M was the very first M/ Z coupe. It was only in production from 1998 to 2002. The Z3 M wasn’t necessarily an approved M production vehicle. A skunkworks team deep in the bowels of BMW decided to take the little Z3 roadster and turn it into the ultimate driving experience. The standard Z3 just wasn’t enough for BMW M engineers. The Z3 M is a Z3 fitted with a fixed roof, a 3.2 liter in-line six, a five speed manual transmission, and a limited slip differential. The first half of its production had the mighty S52 straight six from the contemporary E36 M3 and the other half had the S54 from the E46 M3. The U.S market only saw 2,870 of these cars. That breaks down to 2,180 of them having the S52 and 678 of them having the S54.
They did this work though completely on their own. The supervisory board was completely unaware at first. When the Z3 M was finally shown to the board, naturally they were very displeased. It took driving the vehicle in order for it to be pushed through the production line.
BMW is known for their sleek designs, their sharp edges and their powerful drivetrains. Do you think the clown shoe perfectly represents BMW? For more euro auto repair fast facts check out more of our blog.
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