In a family, the middle child is often neglected. In the family of BMW M3's, the first child is the "street racer" E30 M3, the middle child is the E36 M3, and the third child is the powerful, new E46 M3.
So the E36 M3 is often neglected; except by their owners and the motoring press, that is. But we have some great pictures and other info for you so you can see why it is a mistake to neglect the E36 M3 and treat it like it's a
middle child.
click for a larger image
When the E36 M3 arrived in 1992, the larger body size and the 6-cylinder motor (as opposed to the 4-cylinder in the E30 M3) immediately distinguished the E36 M3.
The 4-cylinder motor had been replaced by a 3.0 litre twin-cam iron-block straight-six boasting 286bhp. This was the Euro M3. The US received a stroked version of the 2.5 litre 3-Series straight-six. The
continuously-variable VANOS system used on the Euro cylinder head was replaced by the simpler single VANOS system.
The early Euro M3s all had the 3.0 S50 engine. When the Evo appeared, displacement was pushed up to 3.2 litres. USA M3s used first a 3.0 then a 3.2 liter version of the M50/52 engine with one throttle body rather
than the traditional one throttle body per cylinder. In addition, the US version didn't get the Euro's floating rotor disc brakes or six speed gearbox.
Like the US models, the M3 Evo was available either as a coupe or a four-door sedan. A convertible model was later added to the product line.
The Euro M3 Evo had an increase in bore and stroke to raise the overall displacement from 2990cc to 3201cc. The Evo motor produced 321 hp at 7400 rpm and 258 lb/ft of torque at 3250 rpm. This was good enough for a 0-60 mph time
of 5.3 sec. On a drag strip, the quarter-mile was run in 13.7 sec with a top speed of 104.5 mph.
New, lighter pistons were mated to graphite-coated connecting rods, the inlet valves were enlarged and the compression ratio increased from 10.8 to 11.3:1. A second oil-pump was added for extra lubrication under
sustained hard cornering.
While the 3.0 litre twin-cam used VANOS variable valve timing on the inlet cam, increased torque was made possible by adding VANOS to the exhaust cam as well. The Bosch MSS50 engine management system controls
fuelling, spark, emissions and the VANOS units simultaneously.
The new car produced 321bhp at 7400rpm and 258 lb ft of torque at a lower 3250rpm. In a car weighing only 3385 lb, the E36 M3 Evo clocked a 0-60mph time of 5.3 sec.
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