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BMW decided to make a big step last year and finally replace the 3 Series Coupe with a completely new model, the 4 Series. This move stunned a lot of people but from it was a one subtly announced as far back as the E46 platform, probably the most successful in the long history of the 3 Series model.
It was back then when the Coupe and Sedan models started showing a couple of differences in between them, mostly related to the exterior styling with a couple of carefully placed details. It was a generation later though, when plans to replace the Coupe completely became rather obvious.
Back then, the E90/92/93 3 Series were the first ones to use different codes for basically the same car with three body styles. The E90 was the Sedan, the E92 the Coupe and the E93 the Convertible. The different codenames were used because BMW wanted to launch the 4 Series but dropped the plan at the last moment. The next generation wouldn’t be so ‘lucky’.
That’s how we ended up with the F30 3 Series Sedan, the F32 4 Series Coupe and the F33 4 Series Convertible. Of course, due to this pattern, the M models followed suit and had different codenames and wore different badges. That’s how they came up with the M4 Convertible.
Like its Coupe brother, the Convertible M car has some pretty big shoes to fill, starting with the iconic and the first ever M3 Convertible that used to be dubbed ‘E30’ internally.
Initially, BMW wanted to launch the Convertible E30 M3 with a 6-cylinder inline engine. A prototype of that car was even put up for display at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show but after careful debate, the S14 engine was used instead with its 4-cylinder architecture, just like on the Coupe.
The first M3 Convertible was seen in the flesh in the Summer of 1988 and it was built by hand at BMW’s M Garching facility, just like all the other M cars of that day and age. It went out of production in 1991 and was replaced 5 years later by the E36 3 Series Convertible.
Built between March 1994 and August 1999, the E36 M3 Convertible had two different engines under the bonnet, depending on the market it was sold on and the years it was manufactured. Unlike its predecessor, the E36 was introduced on the US market as well and it had a different engine under the bonnet, to comply with the regulations on North American ground.
The initial car had a 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine codenamed S50B30 developed by the Motorsport division and featured technology like individual throttle bodies and a more complex cylinder head. The US version’s ‘heart’, on the other hand, was closer to the standard M50 engine on which the S50 was based.
Between March 1994 and August 1995, the 3-liter unit was used on all cars, making 282 HP. The US Market version made 240 HP due to the different tech and added catalysts.
After 1995 the S50B32 unit was introduced with a displacement of 3.2-liters in Europe, the same one that would be upgraded and introduced on the next M3, the E46.
The new model was unveiled in 2000 at the Geneva Motor Show and used an improved version of the 3.2-liter S50 engine from the E36. It’s codename was S54. This one used to rev up to 8,000 RPM and developed 343 HP and 262 lb-ft (355 Nm) of torque. Special versions were rated at 360 HP but on limited edition models.
The Convertible shared everything except the roof with its Coupe brother. The retractable soft top was light to preserve handling characteristics. Unlike the E36 before it, the E46 had the same engine on both the European continent and the US one. It would do 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.5 seconds, an impressive number back then. Nearly 29,633 convertible E46 M3s were made between 2001 and 2006.
The last M3 Convertible ever made was the E93. Replacing the E46 Convertible in 2008, the drop top version of the E90 M3 was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show of the same year. The car would eventually become BMW’s last model fitted with a naturally aspirated engine by the end of 2013. And what an engine they picked to go out with.
Under the powerdome of the E93 M3 hid a 4-liter V8 engine codenamed S65 that was good for 420 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. Its high-revving character (it redlines at 8,400 RPM) and the specific sound turned it into an instant classic as well as the fact that it was the only M3 with a V8 engine.
Thanks to the new 7-speed DCT gearbox, the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint could be done in 5.3 seconds now. Unlike its predecessor, the E93 M3 had a hardtop that made it perfect for all seasons. It was also its single flaw, making the car heavier by around 200 lbs compared to the Coupe. It went out of production in November 2013, after 16,219 units were made, taking the last naturally aspirated engine ever made by BMW with it.
Last, but not least, we get to the new M4 Convertible, a name that put to rest the ever so famous “M3 Convertible” nomenclature. Fitted with a new generation S55 unit, this is the first turbocharged engine ever to be used on an M3/M4 and a return to basics, as fans called it thanks to its inline 6-cylinder configuration.
It makes 431 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) according to BMW and shoots the drop top to 100 km/h (62 mph) nearly a full second faster. When fitted with the manual 6-speed gearbox, the F83 will reach the benchmark speed in 4.6 seconds while the automatic one will do the same 0.2 seconds faster. This one also has a hard top, like the one before it.
Unfortunately for the old-school BMW fans, no matter how good this car looks on paper, they will never forgive it for retiring the M3 Convertible name. Whether it will be just as successful or even more popular than its predecessors only time can tell but the results are soon to come in as the new model is now on sale.
Back then, the E90/92/93 3 Series were the first ones to use different codes for basically the same car with three body styles. The E90 was the Sedan, the E92 the Coupe and the E93 the Convertible. The different codenames were used because BMW wanted to launch the 4 Series but dropped the plan at the last moment. The next generation wouldn’t be so ‘lucky’.
That’s how we ended up with the F30 3 Series Sedan, the F32 4 Series Coupe and the F33 4 Series Convertible. Of course, due to this pattern, the M models followed suit and had different codenames and wore different badges. That’s how they came up with the M4 Convertible.
Like its Coupe brother, the Convertible M car has some pretty big shoes to fill, starting with the iconic and the first ever M3 Convertible that used to be dubbed ‘E30’ internally.
Initially, BMW wanted to launch the Convertible E30 M3 with a 6-cylinder inline engine. A prototype of that car was even put up for display at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show but after careful debate, the S14 engine was used instead with its 4-cylinder architecture, just like on the Coupe.
The first M3 Convertible was seen in the flesh in the Summer of 1988 and it was built by hand at BMW’s M Garching facility, just like all the other M cars of that day and age. It went out of production in 1991 and was replaced 5 years later by the E36 3 Series Convertible.
Built between March 1994 and August 1999, the E36 M3 Convertible had two different engines under the bonnet, depending on the market it was sold on and the years it was manufactured. Unlike its predecessor, the E36 was introduced on the US market as well and it had a different engine under the bonnet, to comply with the regulations on North American ground.
The initial car had a 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine codenamed S50B30 developed by the Motorsport division and featured technology like individual throttle bodies and a more complex cylinder head. The US version’s ‘heart’, on the other hand, was closer to the standard M50 engine on which the S50 was based.
Between March 1994 and August 1995, the 3-liter unit was used on all cars, making 282 HP. The US Market version made 240 HP due to the different tech and added catalysts.
After 1995 the S50B32 unit was introduced with a displacement of 3.2-liters in Europe, the same one that would be upgraded and introduced on the next M3, the E46.
The new model was unveiled in 2000 at the Geneva Motor Show and used an improved version of the 3.2-liter S50 engine from the E36. It’s codename was S54. This one used to rev up to 8,000 RPM and developed 343 HP and 262 lb-ft (355 Nm) of torque. Special versions were rated at 360 HP but on limited edition models.
The Convertible shared everything except the roof with its Coupe brother. The retractable soft top was light to preserve handling characteristics. Unlike the E36 before it, the E46 had the same engine on both the European continent and the US one. It would do 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.5 seconds, an impressive number back then. Nearly 29,633 convertible E46 M3s were made between 2001 and 2006.
The last M3 Convertible ever made was the E93. Replacing the E46 Convertible in 2008, the drop top version of the E90 M3 was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show of the same year. The car would eventually become BMW’s last model fitted with a naturally aspirated engine by the end of 2013. And what an engine they picked to go out with.
Under the powerdome of the E93 M3 hid a 4-liter V8 engine codenamed S65 that was good for 420 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. Its high-revving character (it redlines at 8,400 RPM) and the specific sound turned it into an instant classic as well as the fact that it was the only M3 with a V8 engine.
Thanks to the new 7-speed DCT gearbox, the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint could be done in 5.3 seconds now. Unlike its predecessor, the E93 M3 had a hardtop that made it perfect for all seasons. It was also its single flaw, making the car heavier by around 200 lbs compared to the Coupe. It went out of production in November 2013, after 16,219 units were made, taking the last naturally aspirated engine ever made by BMW with it.
Last, but not least, we get to the new M4 Convertible, a name that put to rest the ever so famous “M3 Convertible” nomenclature. Fitted with a new generation S55 unit, this is the first turbocharged engine ever to be used on an M3/M4 and a return to basics, as fans called it thanks to its inline 6-cylinder configuration.
It makes 431 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) according to BMW and shoots the drop top to 100 km/h (62 mph) nearly a full second faster. When fitted with the manual 6-speed gearbox, the F83 will reach the benchmark speed in 4.6 seconds while the automatic one will do the same 0.2 seconds faster. This one also has a hard top, like the one before it.
Unfortunately for the old-school BMW fans, no matter how good this car looks on paper, they will never forgive it for retiring the M3 Convertible name. Whether it will be just as successful or even more popular than its predecessors only time can tell but the results are soon to come in as the new model is now on sale.
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