BMW E30 M3 Evolution 2 #036/500
The E30 M3 is one of the most iconic cars to come out of the 80s – a decade that saw a lot of fantastic machines. Most of the best of these were produced for homologation purposes – to enable manufacturers to race them, a certain number of road-going examples had to be produced. The E30 M3 was exactly that – a homologation special produced so that BMW could race it on track (mainly the DTM series), and it went on to be one of the most successful race cars in history. It was also a runaway success with the car buying public, and BMW ended up producing over 17,000 M3s in various incarnations during the production run.
In fact, each time BMW modified their race car for the season, they had to produce a specific number of road-going cars to match, and the production cars that followed carried the modifications with them. By the time the third version was racing (1. Original version 2. Evolution1 and 3. Evolution 2) BMW had refined the car to perfection, and it started winning pretty well everything, with drivers such as Roberto Ravaglia and Jonny Cecotto clearing up on the world’s touring car circuits. This spawned the now famous post season specials (Cecotto, Ravaglia), which were both Evo 2s under the skin. This was the golden age for the E30 M3 when the BMW team had the world at their feet. The Evo 2 sold pretty well in the showrooms too, despite the £30,000 base price tag, and only being available from BMW in LHD (to be fair they only had 501 to shift).
The Evo 2 is probably the most distinctive, appearance wise, with that iconic front chin spoiler, ///M striped rocker cover and plenum chamber, checker cloth/leather combo seats, with the tri colour M-stripes built in and of course, the numbered plaque. The beauty wasn’t only skin deep though – the evolved S14 breathed better, had higher compression, revised engine management and lighter components. It had better aerodynamics, and had bigger wheels and a reduced final drive ratio. The glass was thinner, the boot lid was lighter – they even deleted the fog lights, using the hole as an airduct instead. All this helped increase performance, with bhp up to 220 from the original 195, and reduced wait by an important – in racing terms – 10kg. Only 501 of these incredible machines were made. It’s hard to argue against this being the most important evolution of the E30 M3 – the proof being all those wins!
This handsome M3 Evo is a rare opportunity to own one of the most legendary, collectable BMW M cars, in arguably the most popular colour combination. Imported from Germany in 2000, this Evo2 has an incredibly detailed, documented history covering the whole period since the vehicle was first delivered in 1988. The car arrived in the UK in 2000, and has only had 4 owners in the 26 years that followed.
Between 1988 and 2013, this Evo had 26 sevices! Since that time the car has covered a little over 3000 miles, having been stored without moving for 5 years 2014-2019, and having been stored and used rarely since 2019, covering under 1000 miles in that last period.
In 2004, the Evo2 undertook a documented clock change, with the mileage correctly recorded before and after. In 2005 the car underwent a top and bottom end engine rebuild (due to a con rod failure)using the correct OEM BMW-supplied Evo2 small block and pistons. At the same time, the owner took the opportunity to carry out a few popular upgrades to the engine such as Schrick cams, and an Alpha N ECU upgrade, as well as replacing many ancillary components and giving the car a general overhaul.
The car was dyno tested at the time and was showing an output of 241bhp. The new engine was subject to the correct running in service. Since the engine rebuild the car has covered roughly 30,000 miles. This M3 Evo2 comes with a comprehensive paperwork file, the detail of which shows the care and enthusiasm each owner has had for this fabulous car. Our own technical team had thoroughly inspected the vehicle and have reported a short list of items to be taken care of prior to delivery to the new owner.
For more information on this lovely Evo2, or to book a viewing (by appointment only please) contact the showroom team on 01825 740456 or email us on sales@munichlegends.com
