BMW’s M3 Experience: Like Being in a DTM Race

Matt Davis, courtesy AutoWeek
Published Date: 8/30/04

In lieu of being lucky enough to say you drive an M3, there is, "I drove an M3." Then there is, "I drove an M3 at the M school in South Carolina."

Then there is, "I drove all three generations of the M3 around the old Grand Prix circuit at Goodwood as much as I pleased for a whole afternoon." The BMW Mobile Tradition, the company’s cultural arm if you will, in that it’s devoted to preserving history, locating vintage parts and organizing BMW’s participation in worldwide car events, put this together for us while in England earlier this summer for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Just as with the M school setup in the States, we first received training on an autocross circuit in the new M3 at Goodwood. After that we split into two groups and circled the 2.4-mile track, stopping at each significant section and analyzing it with one of the chief German instructors present, Marc Surer or Christian Leukers. A particularly eerie moment was finding the point at which Bruce McLaren’s M8D Can-Am car left the track in testing in June 1970, and collided with a flag tower, killing McLaren instantly. It brought home the point that Goodwood is a fast track with very little room for error.

After analyzing the circuit for braking points, turning points and apexes, we started in a group of four 3.2-liter M3s following Surer in the lead car. Apart from the long chicane at St. Mary’s and a pair of gentle uphill lefts along the Lavant Straight, Good-wood is all right-handers. After a few laps, all the analysis fell into place and the kinks were out. With Surer’s encouragement, we found ourselves in DTM race mode, only a yard or so off one another’s bumpers at high speed and high revs.

Next, the drivers switched and we were in a collection of four earlier M3s, with Leukers leading: two 1986 2.3-liter 200-hp cars with their gargantuan rear wing and five-speed manual, a 1992 3.0-liter 286-hp M3 with the five-speed and a 1995 3.2-liter 321-hp model with the six-speed. It was quite a difference from the new 343-hp car with SMG paddles or six-speed manual. The lightness and dimensions of the 1986 M3, along with its throatier exhaust, made it our favorite, despite the challenging five-speed shift pattern. We noted that steering, shift timings and handling in particular have come far. After resetting our bearings, we were once again DTM-ing with a bit more body language thrown in.

Driving at Goodwood is a thrill, a very different experience from the usual M school. We learned an amazing amount about our driving and about the M3 legend. And you can’t beat the picturesque setting.

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