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Am I correct in that all E30 M3's were 1.8's?  If so was there a performance advantage in that car over a 325i?  Or was it all suspension and styling? 

I thought the e30 M cars were 2.3?  They have the 4 banger with 192 hp, higher rpm, and much better engineering - the only advantage an e30 325i, 90 in specific, would have over the M3 would be a start off the line to about 40/45 mph because of the gearing and torque advantage the 325i has over the M car at a standing start.  Once the M car get's going, the 325i will be pretty far back.  Night and day difference starting at 50mph.

2.3 makes sense.  I knew they pretty fast, and just didn't see how they got that from the 1.8.

You'll be surprised howmuch you can get out of a 1.8! ;) (with the right stuff!)

now back to the question:

the e30 m3 is a 2.3 4-banger with 16 valves and double overhead cams producing 198bhp

then you have the E30 M3 EVO,a 2.5 producing 210bhp
(the gasketcover is painted in ///M-sport colors,and they have an adjustible rear spoiler)

euro spec has more HP - the e30 here has 192.

Would those M3 EVO's been available in the US?

Nope - but you can import parts to upgrade your US spec S14 to the Evo spec's.  Some M cars that never made it here to the US are the e30 M3 Convertible, e34 M5 Wagon.

Jeff,
       Nothing like getting your doors blown off by an M wagon. pardon my ignorance, but I never knew they made such a thing. I do believe that would make the trips to the store a bit more interesting.

I am probalby showing my age, but, I agree a M5 Wagon would be a cool machine.

Dport,
         You are only as old as you act. Age is a state of mind.

I was thinking more in the sense that I think a station wagon could be cool.

Dport,
        Anything with M power could be cool. I actually like the station wagon concept a lot more than I do the minivans. It is kind of wierd. You reacha point in life where you need something as a family truckster, but don't want it to look like a family truckster. I had a minivan and hated it. It was actually a nice van, but I hated the looks of it. At the time it served it's purpose very well, but I was very happy to see it go down the road. I replaced it with an xterra, but I am looking at an X-3, or maybe a used X-5.

I agree completely.  I never want a minivan.  The only thing I don't like about the X series is that you can only seat 5.  I got one one day as a loaner from the local dealer.  WOW, what a machine.  I wish it would have taken a couple of days to fix my car.

dport,
        If you know a salesman there they will probably let you take one for a weekend. The dealership I bought the car from is OUTSTANDING! They will loan about anything on the lot. When I had my initial check done they gave me a choice of a loaner and told me to keep it for the weekend if I couldn't make it to the dealership in time. I know that this isn't the case with all dealers, but it should be. This maybe biased, but I find myself comparing everything to BMW. The Xterra is a great truck if you go camping and the like, but most of my driving in it is done on the highway, so an X-3 will probably be in my future. I found out that some form of alteration is going to take place in the near future, so i might wait a little longer. About the van, it was a great purchase at the time. It never gave me a bit of trouble, but it was a minivan and had to go somewhere else. the thing I do miss is the seating capacity. Now when I have company in town, we have to take two cars to go somewhere. The bright side is I get to drive my car and watch the passenger hang on.

M5 touring:

(http://static.marktplaats.nl/fotos/autos/bmw/81544.jpg)

 ;)

Cool car. thanks for the picture.

belongs to a friend of mine..

E34 M5 tourings are about the most difficult cars to find,next to a 2002 turbo!!

notice the double sunroof,man that is sweet!

What did that come with, 3.2 or 3.5?  How many were produced?  It's a stick, right?

That has to be the best looking station wagon I have ever seen. I guess I should be saying touring, but you get the idea. Thanks for the pic and the information.

it came in a 3.6 & 3.8,not sure about the production numbers

and yes it's a stick! ;)

Those must euro-spec engines.  I haven't ever seen anything with that size engine before.  I'm sure there is whole host of cars that are never seen over here.

i´m sure there are!

even modern european cars are modified and detuned when theyre sold in the states

must be your crazy emission laws!

I'm looking to buy one. How much does an E30 m3 go for price wise?

Jeff will tell you he won't pay less than... what is it $13,000 Jeff? lol... I have found some locally as low as $9700 but I would not buy from that low of a range without knowing the exact maintnence history and stuff... When I buy one (which I will, hopefully after I get the passat paid off) I'll be lookin in the $12-16,000 range, and it better have less owners than the passat (so less than four) and a good maintnence record.

correct dustin - I have though changed my mind, and opted to go for the 2006 Z06, but if I were to get an e30 M3 it would be at least $15,000 - that is a car that has all records and it's all original.  You can get some that are beat up for less than 10k, or get one from a car dealer who has no idea what the car is - sometimes you can sneak one on them.

That would be such a hard decision for me... a 2006 Z06 or an E30 M3... I mean damn... both are such badass machines...

if I come across the right M car, 1990/1991 - I guarantee you it's mine.  bye bye vette ;)  Me, personally, it's
BMW: 51/ Vette: 49

they now have the X5 that seats 7 :)