How many times can we reiterate the M3's brilliance? (It's a rhetorical question; don't bother answering.) Powerful, capable, practical... you've heard it all before. The M3 is the ber sedan sitting atop the automotive food chain.
The M3's predictable performance means there are no surprises when it's pushed hard. It can do the same extraordinary feats until it runs out of fuel. We were surprised, then, when we drove this pair of M3s from D2 Technik and Kinetechnik. Cornering speeds were greater, acceleration was more urgent and brakes stopped harder. Leaving an M3 wanting is no easy feat. This pair pulled it off.
Over the span of three days during the JGTC races at California Speedway, these BMWs carried more than 100 passengers during hot exhibition laps. I know this because I was responsible for several dozen of those laps and wore the tires to the cords. Despite the ruined rubber and moistened seats, this couple never once complained-rather, they dared the brave to push even harder.
Kinetechnik's E46 M3The Carbon Black/Imola Red M3 belongs to Mo Haroun of Kinetechnik, the exclusive importer for Delage BMW performance gear. The engine, suspension, brakes and chassis have been significantly modified, leaving this car with genuine racecar attributes. Of course, it had a better radio, air conditioning and a real back seat.
Perhaps the most striking feature was its sound. It had the impatient rumbling gurgle of a blender filled with nuts, bolts and morphine.
Although the M3's S54 engine is on edge, Haroun managed to coax a claimed additional 90 bhp from its 3.2 liters. The motor was augmented with the Delage Sport Stage III package which includes a beautifully fabricated carbon-fiber airbox, aggressive Delage camshafts and Delage software. Supersprint's headers are funneled into its race downpipe with crossover tube and exit into a Supersprint race muffler. For quicker "outta the hole" performance, Haroun installed a 3.91 rear end and UUC's Stage II clutch and lightened flywheel. The UUC flywheel shaves significant rotating mass from the dual-mass stock unit and gives the throttle response of a superbike.
Eibach's revised underpinnings include Bilstein PSS9 dampers with 500/525-pound Eibach race springs and Eibach sway bars at each end. Kinetechnik dialed in an incredible 2.5 degrees negative camber up front and 2.5 out back via C-G rear correction arms. Running gear is comprised of BBS RGR wheels measuring 8.5x19 up front and 10x19 in the rear. The car was assembled with Yokohama's AVS Sport tires; they died however and have since been replaced with Michelin's Pilot Cup tires, 245/35-19 in front and 275/30-19 out back.
Brakes are Ferrari-style Brembos featuring massive four-piston calipers and 355mm rotors. Race Technologies in Marina Del Rey, Calif., assembled the package and included braided stainless-steel brake lines and aggressive race pads.
Sportswear is comprised of Kinetechnik's European-style front bumper and rear diffuser, all fabricated from carbon-fiber composites. Headlamps are the ever-popular Umnitza DDE units.
The cabin includes the M3's aluminum trim package enhanced with Imola Red leather. An Eclipse head unit directs sound through JL Audio amps and MB Quart components and drivers.
With the race gas ECU program (100/104 AKI) we clocked a 12.2-second quarter mile at 114 mph. The numbers extrapolated include zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and zero to 100 mph in 9.6, making this car the fastest normally aspirated M3 we've ever seen. Although spinning the engine to 8800 rpm is questionable-the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long-this is one BMW that shines very brightly indeed.
D2 Technik's White/Black E46 M3A foil to is wilder sibling, D2's M3 is nonetheless a damn fine ride. Its aim is more toward streetable performance. Its pronounced aerodynamics were wrought from carbon-fiber composites by GMBH Design. They include the front spoiler, hood, rear diffuser and trunk lid. Santiago at B2 Custom Autobody prepped and sprayed the components and repainted the entire car in BMW White. An especially trick touch is the carbon-fiber trim surrounding the Phospyhere Angel Eyes headlamps.
GMBH Design also installed its full carbon-fiber trim package in the cabin. It has been expanded with AC Schnitzer's e-brake handle and pedals. Rogue Engineering's Octane short shifter features weighted selector rods and lends a decidedly precise feel to shifting chores.
The engine has been left largely stock save a Carbonio intake and Supersprint race muffler. It was enough for mid-13-second quarter miles and a 4.6-second zero to 60 mph elapsed time.
The suspension features Eibach's gorgeous ERS adjustable coilovers and its front and rear sway bars. Brakes are gigantic Brembos with eight-piston calipers up front and four-piston units behind. They grip 375mm and 345mm rotors, front and rear respectively. HRE custom-built a set of 840R wheels measuring 9x19 up front and 10x19 in back. Tires are Yokohama AVS Sport.
Although this M3 did not possess the sheer grunt of its brother, it was more comfortable-a lot more comfortable. After tickling 120 mph on the back stretch of California Speedway, the huge brakes made short work of stopping the 3,250-pound chassis. And that didn't include three 200-pound passengers. This car was the ideal playmate, well mannered on the street yet still able to thrill on the track. In a perfect world, we would all drive cars like D2's M3.