1999 BMW M Coupe
“It's uglier than the Gremlin and the Pacer, metallic abominations produced in the waning years of the now-defunct American Motors Corp. It's so ugly, people howl and point at it. It's the 1999 BMW M Coupe"
"I mean, hey, if ugly feels this good, I want more of it."
“The M Roadster blows away competition like the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SLK in straight-line acceleration.“
“While the M Coupe is considered to be in competition with legendary sports cars like the Porsche 911, the performance of the car borders on mystical. “
“It's like piloting a rocket-powered pencil."
"Why on earth did BMW let a Z3 mate with a Civic hatchback? “
“(The) M Coupe is a minor automotive miracle: the extremely rare, stunningly unique, immensely capable, and (yes) supremely practical sports coupe.“
“the M coupe's charm is acceleration without end, amen, and handling that would satisfy Lotus and Ferrari."
"The Z3M's six is one of the best engines of all time."
"One passenger can go along for the ride, but that poor soul will likely exit the car overwhelmed by jealousy."
"With the 3.2-liter, 24-valve inline six-cylinder engine that is shared with BMW's M Roadster and M3 cars, the M Coupe can go from zero to 60 in 5.2 seconds, according to BMW. We have no reason to doubt the validity of this number, especially when, on howling takeoffs, our bodies are thrust into the driver's seat with so much authority that one suspects the car could drive itself."
"This wonderfully engineered but horribly over-styled two-seater is buns-ugly”
M Coupe Information
More M Coupe images:
http://www.netcarshow.com/bmw/1999-m_coupe/
Autos.ca review
The Z3 was the first of what would become, in many enthusiast’s eyes, a sort of “holy trinity” of German two-seat roadsters, completed with the 1997 introductions of the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SLK. ...the Boxster and SLK were both introduced with 201- and 190-hp engines, respectively. M Coupe was a hardtop version, with a nifty (or ugly, depending on who you ask) hatchback rear; fans of the M Coupe affectionately refer to it as the “clown shoe.”
http://www.autos.ca/used-car-reviews/used-vehicle-review-bmw-z3m-roadsterm-coupe-1996-2002
Thetruthaboutcars capsule review
It generated a fair amount of controversy when it debuted. I can vividly recall seeing pictures of the weird be-hatched Z3 in my father’s Auto Motor und Sport, and thinking why on earth did BMW let a Z3 mate with a Civic hatchback? Then I saw one on the road, and was struck by how bizarrely good-looking it was.
BMW only built a tiny number of the cars. Just over 2,000 US-market S52 (1999 & 2000) models were built, while a mere 690 North American M Coupes were made with the more powerful S54 (2001 & 2002).
In short, the 240 HP M Coupe is a minor automotive miracle: the extremely rare, stunningly unique, immensely capable, and (yes) supremely practical sports coupe.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/09/capsule-review-1999-bmw-z3-m-coupe/
Wikipedia facts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M_Coupe
Inside Line 1999 BMW M Coupe review (From January 1999)
The M Coupe's bold styling has car people talking-heatedly-and the Edmund's editors are no exception. There were some that loved the car's design at first glance, and others who were immediately impressed by BMW's audacity, if not by the vehicle's styling itself. Then there were the naysayers, who took a gander at the car's distinctive yet wagon-like lines and claimed that it looked like a tennis shoe. It didn't take more than a few minutes behind the wheel of the coupe, however, for the vehicle to grow on them-styling and all. By the end of our time with the funky-looking car, almost everyone was singing its praises and the design sceptics in our midst were sheepishly admitting that the styling was unique and pretty darned attractive.
With the 3.2-liter, 24-valve inline six-cylinder engine that is shared with BMW's M Roadster and M3 cars, the M Coupe can go from zero to 60 in 5.2 seconds, according to BMW. We have no reason to doubt the validity of this number, especially when, on howling takeoffs, our bodies are thrust into the driver's seat with so much authority that one suspects the car could drive itself.
Reaching 60 mph from zero in 5.3 seconds, the M Roadster blows away competition like the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SLK in straight-line acceleration.
Reaching 60 mph from zero in 5.3 seconds, the M Roadster blows away competition like the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SLK in straight-line acceleration.
...
While the M Coupe is considered to be in competition with legendary sports cars like the Porsche 911, the performance of the car borders on mystical. It has all of the balance and poise of the 911 with none of the Porsche's rear-engined drawbacks. The M turns on a dime without the spooky oversteer administered by the 911, and its growling engine is delightful and can blow the doors off of damn near anything on the road.
One of our editors once said, "BMW doesn't try to compete in the market segment; they try to dominate it." In the case of the M cars, they will dominate it … unless Porsche comes up with something, like a U.S. version of their Boxster S, and fast.
If this was a comparison test and a winner had to be declared, the majority of our staff would choose the M Coupe for the number-one slot.
One of our editors once said, "BMW doesn't try to compete in the market segment; they try to dominate it." In the case of the M cars, they will dominate it … unless Porsche comes up with something, like a U.S. version of their Boxster S, and fast.
If this was a comparison test and a winner had to be declared, the majority of our staff would choose the M Coupe for the number-one slot.
http://www.insideline.com/bmw/m/1999/full-test-1999-bmw-m-coupe-1998-bmw-m-roadster.html
Inside Line 2011 comparison with BMW 1-Series
...the coupe's an odd-looking thing, what with a side profile that looks like a balloon magician gave up halfway through twisting it into a poodle, and rear lights that stop a good few inches before the 245/40ZR17 Michelins do, a skimpy T-shirt riding above a muffin-top belly. Yet, somehow, it all works.
More importantly, this is a fabulous car to drive. The engine is absolutely magnificent, pulling keenly from low revs but then hardening at around 4,000 rpm and transitioning to that trademark M metallic rasp while piling on speed at a fearsome rate. At first it feels like you're in the sweet spot when you're between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm, then you realize you've got another 1,500 rpm to go. Never mind that it gives the M3 V8 a hard time in the battle to be crowned the best M engine ever, the Z3M's six is one of the best engines of all time.
The great thing is, the Z3M doesn't feel hot-rod over-engined despite those 3.2 liters spilling out of the engine bay — it's actually a very nicely balanced thing. The steering has a mid-weighted, honest heft, the five-speed box slots so much more cleanly than the six-speeder that followed, and the chassis feels incredibly benign. You can lean and lean on the front tires in the damp, feeling them first bite and then reach the limit, and from there — with one push of the traction control button — you're free to swing the rear round. I expected it to feel edgier because of the short wheelbase (96.8 inches), but it just doesn't.
http://www.insideline.com/bmw/1-series/bmw-1-series-m-coupe-genesis-and-evolution.html
Edmunds.com review...
http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/m/1999/?sub=hatchback
Review from Washington Post (Dec 1998)
It's an ugly car -- a snouty thing with a humped back, a motorized cartoon on fat, 17-inch rear wheels. It's uglier than the Gremlin and the Pacer, metallic abominations produced in the waning years of the now-defunct American Motors Corp. It's so ugly, people howl and point at it. It's the 1999 BMW M Coupe.
But it's a curious form of derision. People condemn it at first sight. Then they walk around it, touch it, sit in it and ask for a ride. Bolder types beg to get behind the wheel, which they are reluctant to relinquish after short drives.
They are transformed by the experience, and some are transfixed as well. Suddenly, the M Coupe becomes hip, cool, phat (pretty, hot and tempting), different.
True story: A Northern Virginia police officer pulled me over. I was not speeding or doing anything illegal. I was beginning to get huffy when the officer approached the M Coupe laughing.
"What do you think? How does it drive? How do you like it?" the officer asked. He had read about the M Coupe in an auto magazine. "This is the first one I've seen on the road. It's nice -- but it's ugly," the officer said. ...
The more rigid a car, the better its handling. Coupled with that rigidity is a wonderful lightness of being -- the M Coupe weighs 3,131 pounds, 133 pounds more than the Z3 roadster. But that's relatively light weight, considering the power chosen to move it. The M Coupe's 3.2-liter, 24-valve in-line six-cylinder engine is designed to produce 240 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 236 pound-feet of torque at 3,800 rpm. It's like piloting a rocket-powered pencil. ...
I ended the week vowing never again to make appearance-based judgments. I mean, hey, if ugly feels this good, I want more of it. ...
The term "driver's car" has been used so much, it has lost all meaning. But the M Coupe goes a long way toward restoring the definition. It is a car so single-minded in purpose and design, so dedicated to pleasing whoever is behind the wheel, it is a true driver's car. One passenger can go along for the ride, but that poor soul will likely exit the car overwhelmed by jealousy.
http://www.cars.com/bmw/z3/1999/expert-reviews/
Review from L.A. Times (Oct 1998)
BMW's fresh and fiery M coupe is a victim of posterior hypertrophy. Less politely, this wonderfully engineered but horribly over-styled two-seater is buns-ugly. ...
(arriving)… this month, the $41,800 M coupe with a rev-happy, smooth but torquey 3.2-liter inline-6 borrowed from the M3 four-seater. It delivers 240 horsepower and almost as much torque; but within such a light structure, the M coupe's charm is acceleration without end, amen, and handling that would satisfy Lotus and Ferrari. Which means flat, fast, firm, secure, serious fun and something else for the competition to fret over.
….
M treatments, however, are more than a matter of stuffing heavyweight engines into flyweight frames until cops are lifting licenses by the dozen.
For starters, there's that broader, more robust rubber. Wheelbase and track are longer and wider than the Z3 coupe 2.8. Brakes are huge, vented 12-inch discs that allow panic stops until your foot drops off. There are three air scoops for cooling in a front spoiler that is far from cosmetic on a car capable of running out at 137 mph and cornering not much slower.
Chassis strengthening applied to the roadster to reduce body flex has been left intact. Add that to the bracing of a steel-roofed coupe, and you have a car with instantaneous responses that will never lie about balance or what's going on beneath its wheels.
http://www.cars.com/bmw/z3/1999/expert-reviews/?revid=31510
Specs:
(mostly from http://www.z3roadster.com/c32.asp)
ENGINE | |
Engine type | 3.2 liter DOHC 24-valve inline-6 |
Bore x stroke | 3.40 in. x 3.53 in |
Compression ratio | 10.5:1 |
Horsepower (SAE) | 240 bhp @ 6000 rpm |
Torque | 236 lb-ft @ 3800 rpm |
Top speed | 155 mph (250 kph) |
Acceleration, 0-60 mph | 5.2 seconds |
Base price including PDI and transport (1999) | C$64,210 ($42,370USD in US) |
Curb weight | 3131 lbs (1420 Kg) |
Weight distribution with driver, f/r % | 50/50 |
