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Written by Tom Ford
BMW"s Motorsport or M-Power" division has long been a staple of the top ten most desirable on any self-respecting petrolhead"s dream list. Why? Because its machines tend to be brilliantly engineered, eminently usable daily drivers, with the ability to put a smile on your face on any journey. They also tend to be relatively subtle (M3 GTS excepted), reliable and properly quick. They"re also within reach. The good thing about having a long, mass-produced history is that there are loads of older M-cars that are now very reasonable money. Which means you can have a little piece of legendary metal in the garage, without breaking the bankPhotography: Rowan HorncastleThis feature was originally published in the December 2015 issue of Top Gear magazine.Founded in 1972, BMW Motorsport is actually a fully fledged subsidiary of BMW originally intended to handle its racing exploits, starting off with the legendary 3.0-litre CSL back in the early Seventies. It wasn"t long before M"-badged and tweaked machinery (usually, engine, suspension and styling/aero upgrades) arrived, though 1978"s M1 was more a racing car converted to road use than an upgraded road car, something that is probably more realistically encapsulated by the M535i in 1979.These days, it"s a legendary outfit, having made some of the most accessible real-world" performance cars ever. It supplied the 6.0-litre V12 for the McLaren F1, has competed in and won many kinds of motorsport and currently M-Powers (sorry) most of the BMW range in some form or another.As with most of the famous in-house tuners, there"s been a little bit of liberty taken in terms of the badging, though. The famous M" badge also denotes M" styling and accessories, so the only real" M cars tend to have the three-striped M before the model designation (M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, etc). Anything else is lager in a champagne glass.
Date written: 25 Jan 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 1836
BMW"s Motorsport or M-Power" division has long been a staple of the top ten most desirable on any self-respecting petrolhead"s dream list. Why? Because its machines tend to be brilliantly engineered, eminently usable daily drivers, with the ability to put a smile on your face on any journey. They also tend to be relatively subtle (M3 GTS excepted), reliable and properly quick. They"re also within reach. The good thing about having a long, mass-produced history is that there are loads of older M-cars that are now very reasonable money. Which means you can have a little piece of legendary metal in the garage, without breaking the bankPhotography: Rowan HorncastleThis feature was originally published in the December 2015 issue of Top Gear magazine.Founded in 1972, BMW Motorsport is actually a fully fledged subsidiary of BMW originally intended to handle its racing exploits, starting off with the legendary 3.0-litre CSL back in the early Seventies. It wasn"t long before M"-badged and tweaked machinery (usually, engine, suspension and styling/aero upgrades) arrived, though 1978"s M1 was more a racing car converted to road use than an upgraded road car, something that is probably more realistically encapsulated by the M535i in 1979.These days, it"s a legendary outfit, having made some of the most accessible real-world" performance cars ever. It supplied the 6.0-litre V12 for the McLaren F1, has competed in and won many kinds of motorsport and currently M-Powers (sorry) most of the BMW range in some form or another.As with most of the famous in-house tuners, there"s been a little bit of liberty taken in terms of the badging, though. The famous M" badge also denotes M" styling and accessories, so the only real" M cars tend to have the three-striped M before the model designation (M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, etc). Anything else is lager in a champagne glass.
Date written: 25 Jan 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 1836
