GOAT Project: What’s The Greatest BMW M3 Ever?

Editor’s Note: The GOAT Project is a series of articles that will attempt to settle the debate (or add to it) about which generation of legendary model lines is the very best. “GOAT” of course stands for Greatest Of All Time, and that’s what we’re attempting to define. Thanks in advance for reading – don’t forget to comment below if you think we got things very right or very wrong – and look for a new GOAT article each month. 

– Seyth Miersma, Editor, CarsFancy

It’s difficult to pin down the BMW M3. In production for 38 years and sold across six generations, the M GmbH version of BMW’s compact sedan is a legendary performance car, but it’s never been one single, unchanging thing. 

It began in the ‘80s as a small, relatively lightweight rear-wheel-drive coupe powered by a healthy four-cylinder engine. In the ‘90s it morphed into a well balanced trio of body types powered by a silky inline six-cylinder engine. 

The new millennium brought a bigger, more brutish M3 as both a coupe and convertible, while the fourth-generation model introduced a sonorous V8 and was offered as an unholy throuple of coupe, convertible, and sedan. 

Then came the turbos, two of them to be precise, fitted to a lineup of six cylinders that gave the fifth-gen M3 a big power bump. Finally, the current generation M3 is most well known for its buck teeth grille, the introduction of all-wheel drive, and the first wagon model. 

Entering middle-age now, this car has been living a mid-life crisis since it was in diapers, yet its schizophrenic nature has never held it back from being one of the best performance cars around.

The BMW M3 Through The Years

The M3 has one of the most nonsensical collections of designations we’ve ever seen for a single car. Each of its six generations is marked by a three-digit alphanumeric code, though they follow no real pattern that helps a fan remember the lot of them in order. 

• E30: First generation (1986-1991)
• E36: Second generation (1992-1999)
• E46: Third generation (2000-2006)
• E90/E92/E93: Fourth generation (2007-2013)
• F80: Fifth generation (2014-2019)
• G80/G81: Sixth generation (2020-present)

As you can see, the first four generations carry an E code, while the fifth is bumped to an F and the sixth a G. The two-digit numerical suffixes, however, start low and rise until they get into the nineties for the fourth-generation model, then reset back down into the eighties. Ok. 

I’ll admit I’ve never been able to commit the whole string of M3 codes to memory and correctly connect them to their corresponding generation. They’re all just M3s to me, unless they’re an M4. Yeah, BMW decided to begin calling the coupe and convertible models a different name starting with the F80. Sigh. 

Despite the convoluted naming scheme, this car is a mega star among enthusiasts and still going strong after a number of wars, a great recession, and a global pandemic knocked out many lesser nameplates. 

And that, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binaries, is why the BMW M3 is the latest subject in our GOAT Project series. It is legendary, it is complicated, and it is always at the top of its game, regardless of its engine, drivetrain, and form factor.  

Before we begin, let’s define what makes a particular generation of BMW M3 the best one. Here are the data points we’ll be using.

• Combined Power/Torque (higher is better)
• Power-to-weight Ratio (higher is better)
• Weight (lower is better)
• Inflation-adjusted price (lower is better)
• Design
• Just Want It factor

All of our data points are objective except the last two: Design and the Just Want It factor. If we didn’t have these measurements, there’d be no discussion to have after we tallied the hard numbers. It is, essentially, what makes this whole process fun. 

In order to give well-rounded scores for Design and the Just Want It factor to each generation of M3, we assembled a body of automotive journalists, industry insiders, and general car nerds we trust to rank them subjectively. As you can imagine, their responses were anything but unanimous. But, in the end, they helped us determine which generation of BMW M3 reigns supreme.

Rank #6: G80/G81 (2020-present)

• Combined Power/Torque: 473+406=879
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.1248
• Weight: 3,789 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $92,274
• Design: Last place
• Just Want It factor: Fifth place

Wow. We didn’t expect to find a vehicle so soon whose current generation ranked dead last. The sixth-gen G80/G81 M3 is available in the U.S. as a sedan with standard rear-wheel drive or, for the first time, optional all-wheel drive. It’s powered by the lineage’s most thunderous engine, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder powerplant producing anywhere from 473 horsepower to 507 depending on the model. The coupe and convertible are off to the side as M4 models, while the first ever M3 Touring wagon version is sold in markets outside of the U.S. 

All of this sounds great, so how did it lose so badly? Despite coming in first place for power and power-to-weight ratio, the latest M3 is the heaviest, most expensive, and least liked for its styling among all six generations. All of that contributed to its fifth-place finish in the Just Want It category. Sorry BMW, but your latest M3 has landed on its face.

Rank #5: F80 (2015-2019)

• Combined Power/Torque: 425+406=831
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.1194
• Weight: 3,559 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $81,714
• Design: Fifth place
• Just Want It factor: Last place

The fifth-generation M3 did not fare much better in our ranking than the sixth-generation M3. Coming in fifth place, the F80 came in second only to the current M3 in both the power and power-to-weight ratio categories, and it surprisingly racked up some points for its relatively low inflation-adjusted price. Unfortunately, it was doomed by poor scores in the subjective categories, coming in second last place for its design and dead last in the Just Want It scoring. 

You can’t blame the F80’s performance credentials for its low placement in our ranking. While replacing the E90’s V8 with a twin-turbo inline-six was controversial, horsepower and especially torque were way up with this car. 

Maybe the fifth-generation’s car styling, which was somehow milquetoast despite the de rigueur angry eyes treatment, was to blame for our lack of interest. Regardless, you can see how the M3 has now been headed in the wrong direction for two successive generations spanning nearly a decade.

Rank #4 E30 (1986-1991)

• Combined Power/Torque: 192+170=362
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.0748
• Weight: 2,568 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $86,175
• Design: Second place
• Just Want It factor: Third place

Another shocker. Here’s the M3 that started it all and it somehow only manages a fourth place finish in our rankings? This is a testament to how good each of the remaining generations of M3 are and how the first-gen E30 didn’t quite know what it was back in the ‘80s. 

The E30 is the lightest weight M3 by some 600 pounds thanks to the lack of safety gear and sound deadening material future generations were saddled with. That said, it made less than 200 horsepower from a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine, so raw thrust was at a premium. Handling prowess, however, it had for miles. 

We were surprised to discover, though, that the E30 was quite expensive for its time. Adjusted for inflation, its MSRP was second highest only to the sixth-generation M3 that’s currently on sale. Despite that, our panel of experts has a soft spot for the original M3, giving it high marks in both design and for its Just Want It factor.

The good news is that if you bought a first-generation M3 and kept it all these years, your investment paid off. Well-sorted examples are going for six figures at auction these days.

Rank #3 E36 (1992-1999)

• Combined Power/Torque: 240+236=476
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.0755
• Weight: 3,180 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $80,120
• Design: Fourth place
• Just Want It factor: Fourth place

The second-generation E36 is the M3 that put all other performance sedans on notice. It didn’t do it with power, as the car’s straight-six made only 240 horsepower in the U.S. Rather, it handled like a dream and made you feel fast regardless of your actual ability. Adjusted for inflation, the E36 M3 was also the least expensive generation to purchase.

During this era, the M3 was the king of comparison tests, untouchable by more compromised sport sedans from the brand’s fellow German automakers, upstart Japanese luxury brands, and irrelevant domestic products. 

This generation also welcomed the first appearance of special editions for the M3. There were many globally, but we Americans will remember the M3 Lightweight, a race-spec model with its sound-deadening material ripped out and other weight-saving measures applied. It weighed 200 pounds fewer than a stock M3, came only in white, and had an unusable trunk. Only 125 were made.

We think its third-place ranking is right on the money. Unfortunately, this early model just didn’t have enough power and performance compared to later generations, and its design, while elegant, is rather simple. For better or worse, the E36 doesn’t generate a lot of emotion unless you’re driving it the way it was meant to be driven.

Rank #2: E46 (2000-2006)

• Combined Power/Torque: 333+262=595
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.0965
• Weight: 3,450 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $83,550
• Design: First place
• Just Want It factor: Second place

The E46 M3 has many fans. This is the generation where BMW finally started supporting the car with more power. Still using an inline six-cylinder powerplant, this car generated 333 horsepower, nearly 100 more than the prior E36. Yet while it was larger and heavier, its reflexes were also sharper. 

For our panel of experts, the E46 ranked highest among the generations for its styling. It’s a classic BMW design with perfectly proportioned kidney grilles, a Hoffmeister kink, and executive tailoring. Its only faults, perhaps, are the dropping of the sedan body style, a stiff ride around town, and a clunky available SMG-II automated-manual transmission. Thankfully a six-speed manual was still available back then.

The E46 M3 also enjoyed a bit of fame as a central car in the Need For Speed: Most Wanted racing game. Players receive the car at the beginning of their career mode and use it for all sorts of vehicular hijinks until it’s sabotaged later on in the game.

Rank #1: E90/92/93 (2008-2013)

• Combined Power/Torque: 414+295=709
• Power-to-weight Ratio: 0.1189
• Weight: 3,483 pounds
• Inflation-adjusted price: $80,793
• Design: Third place
• Just Want It factor: Sixth place

When you see all the generations of M3 laid out on paper, it’s readily apparent the fourth-generation E90/92/93 model is the best of them all. First off, it’s the only M3 ever sold with a V8 engine, in this case a gloriously sounding 4.0-liter V8 with a crazy high 8,400 RPM redline. It’s the first M3 powerplant to cross the 400-horsepower threshold, a fact that pairs well with this car’s weight, which was held nearly steady over the prior generation’s. The M3’s performance again took a big leap with the E9x, and it’s remarkable that over 15 years later the current M3 only makes 59 horsepower more than this one.

Why the triple code names? Because for some reason BMW decided to give each body style its own code. The sedan, or saloon, model is E90, the coupe is E92, and the convertible is E93. The missing E91 was reserved for a small run of wagon models in Europe. 

To my eyes, the E9x is the only M3 with real sex appeal. It’s got clean curves that wrap around a tight body and it was designed to cheat the wind. It looks small in form, but its large wheels and V8 engine appear as if they’re going to burst through the sheetmetal. Despite my flowery description, our judges ranked it third overall in styling. It was first, however, for its Just Want It factor; this is the M3 our panel covets most. 

To be the best M3 is synonymous with saying you’re the best of the best. If this were the military, the E9x M3 would be a Navy SEAL. If this were the Royal Rumble, the E9X M3 would be the last man standing. And if this were the NBA, the E9x M3 would be the ‘95-’96 Chicago Bulls. In fact, we’ll go so far as to say the fourth-generation BMW M3 is one of the most complete, well-rounded, and enjoyable cars to drive ever made. Period.