BMW has long been active in various forms of motorsport, often to great success. So naturally it didn’t take too long for this racing pedigree to begin to cross over into the company’s road cars. In May of 1972 BMW M (for Motorsport) was established with a modest 35 employees. The first true BMW M road car was the M1, unveiled in 1978, and since then the division has gone on to produce some legendary models. With the launch of the new M2 Coupé just around the corner, we thought it was time to celebrate the best.
Name: BMW M1
Years in production: 1978 - 1981
Engine: 3.5-litre in-line six-cylinder
Power output: 277hp
The BMW M1 looks every bit as spectacular today as it did when it was first unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1978. It was BMW’s first M car and remains the only mid-engined production BMW ever made. Built as a homologation special to enable BMW to go racing with it, the Giugiaro shape embodies sports car design of that era. Just 451 examples were made and it remains one of the most sought after BMWs to this day by collectors.
Name: BMW M3 (E30)
Years in production: 1985 - 1992
Engine: 2.3-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power output: 195hp
Regarded as one of the ultimate BMW M cars, the first generation M3 grabbed the attention of a generation. Its bulging arches and small fixed rear wing left you in no doubt as to what this was. The four-cylinder engine produced 195hp initially, though in later models this increased to 212hp. BMW also produced some special editions including a 235hp Sport Evolution. Find a tidy example today and you will have to part with quite a lot of money for it.
Name: BMW M5 (E39)
Years in production: 1998 - 2003
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power output: 400hp
The E39 wasn’t the first BMW to carry the M5 badge, but in 1998 it became the most powerful M car to date. Combining a 400hp V8 with a six-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, the E39 M5 was a beast. Yet it still retained much of the comfort and space offered by the regular 5 Series, which quickly propelled it to cult icon status. Over 20,000 were built and today it remains one of the best value-for-money M cars you can buy.
Name: BMW Z3 M Coupé
Years in production: 1998 - 2002
Engine: 3.2-litre in-line six-cylinder
Power output: 321hp
After BMW launched the Z3 M roadster it decided to produce a shooting brake version of the high powered M car. Its highly distinctive silhouette was made possible by sharing all of the same bodywork from the A-pillar forward in order to keep production costs down. Power came from a 3.2-litre straight-six and gave the two-seater impressive performance, but it was overshadowed by the more practical M3 of the time, resulting in fewer sales than expected.
Name: BMW 1 Series M Coupé
Years in production: 2011 - 2012
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Power output: 340hp
After the already potent 135i, BMW gave the outgoing 1 Series the full M treatment in the 1 M Coupé. The name was different as BMW didn’t want to put the iconic M1 badge onto the car. Despite that it was a little rocket; with 340hp and a compact design the 1 M was serious fun to drive. It was due to be a limited production run of just 2,700 units, but demand was huge and a total of 6,309 were eventually made.
Name: BMW M5 Touring (E61)
Years in production: 2007 - 2010
Engine: 5.0-litre V10
Power: 507hp
Following on from the impressive E39 M5 was no easy job, but with the E60 BMW really pushed the boat out. It was powered by a V10 engine developed specially for this car and equipped with a third-generation Sequential M Gearbox (SMG III), which gave it near-supercar levels of performance. For three of the six-year production run BMW offered an estate (Touring) version, although only 1,025 were ever made, making this one of the rarest of BMW M cars.
Name: BMW M 635 CSi
Years in production: 1984 - 1989
Engine: 3.5-litre in-line six-cylinder
Power: 286hp
When the E24 6 Series was launched in the mid-seventies it was a real looker, but in 1983 the M 635 CSi appeared. It used the same engine that powered the M1 supercar but with a little more power this four-seat coupé combined impressive performance with plenty of luxury. Its 3.5-litre engine gave it a 0-100km/h time of 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 255km/h.
Name: BMW X5 M
Years in production: 2009 - 2013
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Power: 555hp
Purists don’t consider the X5 M to be an M car proper, but given the surging popularity of SUVs BMW had little choice not to give the X5 the M treatment. Tuning the 4.4-litre V8 gave the X5 M 555hp and it also became the first all-wheel drive M car. It could hit 100km/h in four seconds and had its top speed limited to 250km/h.
Name: BMW M3 CSL
Years in production: 2004
Engine: 3.2-litre in-line six-cylinder
Power: 355hp
The E46 BMW M3 is currently one of the best value-for-money M cars out there, but the M3 CSL is a super rare limited edition that costs a whole lot more. Only 1,400 were produced and they had much of the interior stripped out in order to save weight. Air conditioning and a stereo weren’t available from the factory while much of the bodywork was made from super light carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). Performance increased and, combined with the reduced weight, made this one very special car to drive.
Name: BMW M3 GTS
Years in production: 2011-2012
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Power: 450hp
At the time this was, and still remains, one of the most extreme BMW M cars ever made. Just 118 examples were ever made of this stripped out M3 making it one of the rarest M cars too. It features a factory-fitted roll cage, potent 450hp engine, bigger brakes and fully adjustable suspension. There is also a six-point harness, fixed rear wing and a more extreme body kit, all of which made this road-legal track car a real beast.
So that concludes our top 10 BMW M cars, do you agree with us? Let us know in the comments below
