2002 BMW M3 Coupe Review Los Angeles CA

BMW's M squad has always been in a class by itself, even when judged against its sibling Ultimate Driving Machines. The latest M3 raises that blatant-overachiever benchmark to a heretofore-unseen level. Despite a multitude of refinements and creature comforts, the third-generation M3 comes closer than ever to being the near-perfect embodiment of a road-going racecar.

Derived from the standard 330Ci, the M3 was introduced as a 2001 model and remains available in both coupe and convertible body styles for 2002. However, it's the former that seems best suited to wearing the distinctively bulged bodywork that rightly warns lesser pretenders: "Don't mess." Tasteful visual distinction is provided by more aggressively shaped front and rear fascias, a power-domed hood made from lightweight aluminum instead of steel, pronounced wheel arches to frame its standard 18-inch wheel/tire package, low-drag M-style aero mirrors and functional gill slits on its fore-flanks.

Beneath that purposefully rendered sheetmetal is the fire-breathing heart and soul of the M3, a free-revving 3.2-liter/24-valve DOHC inline six that churns out 333 horsepower at 7,900 rpm and 262 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,900 revs. This is the most potent six-cylinder engine BMW has ever offered in any of its passenger cars, and boasts 90 more ponies and 37 lb.-ft. of additional twist compared to the 3.0-liter engine found in its predecessor. More important to U.S. buyers, the M3 engine comes to America for the first time in the same glorious state of tune that it enjoys elsewhere in the world.

Author: Bob Nagy

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