Not too long ago, the M3 and Corvette weren’t even in the same league. Sure, they both always had a bit more power than usual, ‘normal’ road-going cars and claimed to be more at home on the track than on the highway but they were appealing to different demographics.
Today, things changed. Chevrolet finally decided it was time to upgrade the ‘Vette in more than one department. They wanted it to grow up and to start turning heads and therefore infused it with better tech and lighter materials that would actually make it controllable.
Now, the Stingray is a great piece of machinery. It drives great, handles well and looks beautiful, not to mention the sound that 6.2-liter V8 makes... It’s a sound that will soon go extinct with all the new-age environmental laws.
On the other hand, the M3 was always regarded as a great track car. Keeping a discreet look overall and with great high-revving engines, the cars used to dominate tracks.
From the original E30 model that wrote history in the DTM to the last version, the E90/92/93 models, everything about the M3 said performance. Cars like the E36 GTR and the E46 CSL are still regarded as some of the best handling machines ever made. Therefore, the Motorsport division had some pretty big shoes to fill in.
At the same time, they had to do it while keeping emissions in check, downsizing and increasing performance. How? Without forced induction and a drastic weight reduction program it couldn’t’ve been possible. That’s exactly what they did.
They created a car that is lighter and more powerful than its predecessor even though it has a smaller engine. Two turbochargers make sure you have plenty of grunt every time you press the gas pedal.
Sure, that move disappointed a lot of people but it was only necessary, something a lot of the fan base out there couldn’t understand. Either way, such disputes will go on forever and there’s no need to insist on them. Bottom line, the guys from Automobile Magazine found both pros and cons on these two Coupes. However, they come to the same conclusion. Check out the video to see who won.
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