First things first. There is not an LS engine in this M3. This is a factory V8 powered M3 that has been warmed up with a centrifugal blower bolted to the front of the engine and it sounds pretty nasty at full song on the rollers. It also sounds pretty mean at the drags which the car is shown running at during the tail end of the video. All of these things are nice and I know if I were writing them about a Chevelle there’s be no question regarding the Bangshifty-ness of said car, but since this is a BMW, I am interested in whether or not the car is BangShift approved?
Blown V8, 500+ at the tires, super refined factory suspension package, etc. The downside is that an M3 is a big dollar car and we can only imagine the thousands and thousands of dollars the blower kit ran the owner to boot. I got the business for my story on the Equus a few months back after talking about its 430hp V8, which drives the right set of wheels but seems to be from the wrong country of origin. Does the BMW suffer the same fate? Would this car be “better” with an LS in it? Is the badge and the window sticker enough to make it suck?
Sharing my own opinion on this one, I’d drive the wheels off of it and would probably have to after burning the tires down the cords on the first day.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE SIGHTS AND HEAR THE SOUNDS OF THIS BAD BEEMER….BANGSHIFT APPROVED?
It’s approved! ‘M’ series machines are bad ass. With respect to cost, I’m sure most of those boys running built autocross muscle cars with aftermarket chassis, and modern power could have bought one of these things…so comparing it’s coolness to cost is irrelevant.
This thing is pretty cool for sure. But to try and compare the coolness of something built vs. bought is pretty hard to do…even if they both cost the same.
Having said that I wouldn’t say no to beating the bark off this car!
It’s all good. Makes decent power and an okay noise. Be a shame if it was just a dyno queen though, I’d like to see it on a circuit or an autocross.
100% approved. While i will always love all things v8 and American,the Germans build down right bad-ass cars. i got to drive a 2004 M5 once and it was a riot.The car just felt tight and flat got it for a 4 door luxury car. As far as this car goes, how can you not respect an 11.70 ET from a car that probably weighs 4000 and has an interior made from a whole cattle ranch of cows?
Approved. Not my style but for those with the check book have at it. That being said the BS crowd seems to me to be a little different than the BMW set. Kind of like when I let my buddies in the British car club know I also owned an AMC and spent the next hour trying to answer to why I thought a Matador coupe was cool. Hey it IS an Oleg Cassini
A friend that I did Chumpcar with last year had for his daily driver in the summer (and regular track day car), a Vortech-blown V8 M3. Lots of fun, sounded great, really hauled the mail on the “dyno pull” tracks like Watkins Glen and Mosport.
yeh I get most people like it, and this is probably more a failing on my part but I utterly despise BMW’s. (I hate Porsches too…) If the world ended and I was the only person left I* wouldn’t mind driving one but its the owners… I have NEVER seen a beemer in traffic that wasn’t driven by a self centred smug prat. They’ll cut you off, not let you in, in short drive like total tool and the vibe they give off is ` yes, but I’m in a BMW so I can get away with it..’ If it was just the high dollar ones you can sorta get it but its not…the 318’s, old 2002’s or whatever that you know they bought for a grand and have a wheezy, gutless 4 cyl in them still have exactly the same vibe. Crazily enough you don’t seem to get the same thing from Mercedes owners…in fact I often think about getting hold of an old merc….the owners don’t seem to have stick up their arses like beemer owners either. OK, rant over . BTW don’t hate on me, I already said its probably a failing on my part. (but I’m sticking to my guns….BMW’s suck.)