Unless you’re an insufferable car nerd like me, which I assume most of you who clicked on this probably are, you likely didn’t even know that BMW built a convertible version of the iconic 1980s DTM homologation-special E30-generation M3. The company built just 786 examples of this ridiculously rad drop top, and now is your chance to buy one. You know, if you have a spare couple hundred grand sitting around.
If you’re addicted to box-flared wheel arches and you absolutely need the top to go down, this is the car you need. It’s the perfect car to cruise around Palm Springs during the week, and take to The Thermal Club for a track day on Saturday.
Being an E30 M3, you naturally get the buttery smooth high-rev Paul Rosche-designed S14 engine—a 197-horsepower, 2.3-liter double-overhead-cam four-cylinder. That is, of course, mated to the motorsport-inspired dogleg Getrag 5-speed manual transmission. The fenders are widened to accept a bulging track, wider wheels and tires, for increased grip. It’s not going to win any competitions against a modern M3, except that it looks better and provides the driver with much more engagement. The Germans call that “Dynamism.”
This particular example is painted in a delightful dark shade called Macao Blue Metallic, and the interior and top are the typical black. It does make the car look like a bit of a bruise, but it gets a bit better looking when you put the top down. If you’re going to buy this, make sure you always pack the sunscreen and a track-day-legal Snell-rated helmet. You’ll get plenty of use out of both.
Low-mile E30 M3s have recently shot up into the six-figures and become something of a blue-chip Radwood-era collectible. You can probably get a nice driver-grade coupe for 60 grand, but the sub-30,000 mile examples are trading hands near $150,000. RM Sotheby’s will be offering this example with just 2,742 miles on the odometer for sale at its Miami auction on Friday, March 1. The pre-auction estimate provided by the auction house predicts this car (which is selling without reserve) will bring between 150,000 and 200,000 American dollars. That’s a hell of a lot of greenbacks, but you’re almost sure to never see another one of these on the road. Hell, you’ll probably never see another one period.
