BMW M3-Motor Trend Magazine

Trust us on this: No matter what types of cars you lust after, and no matter what era you hold dear, these are the Good Old Days when it comes to serious automotive performance. And not just in an old-fashioned straight-line sense of the term: Today's hottest rides go, handle, and stop as well as full-out SCCA Trans Am race cars of 30 years ago. Yet, they pack amazingly high levels of luxury, feature content, and electronic technology.

For this test, we've gathered three of the best. Two are from Germany, one's all-American, and each presents its own perspective on the sports-car theme: A two-seat mid-engine flat-six-cylinder roadster, a two-seat front-engine V-8 coupe, and a four-seat front-engine inline-six coupe. So besides gobbling up several hundred miles of great mountain roads, we visited Buttonwillow Raceway (not far from scenic Central Cal locales like Oildale and Weed Patch) to run a more-than-full complement of performance numbers. We'll tell you right now: They're all great, and they're all fast. But which of our three is the true king of speed?

Interestingly enough, all three players are amped-up limited-availability versions of some sort of base model: The Z06 stems from the already potent 350-hp Corvette, "S" always means something special in a Porsche, and the standard 3 Series coupe serves as the M3's foundation. We've already detailed the nuts and guts of BMW's newest M3, but in summary, it's an E46-platformed 3 Series coupe that enjoys the well-balanced thoroughness of a BMW M-style performance workover. Every body panel save roof and doors is different, including tastefully flared fenders (love those 3.0 CS-style exhaust vents just aft of the front wheels), a more powerfully styled hood, revised front/rear/side fascias, and the all-important M badging.

Beneath that hood is a seriously high-tech, handbuilt M-spec 3.2L DOHC straight-six boasting all-alloy construction, BMW's patented Double Vanos variable-valve-timing setup (which allows the engine-management system to effect the cam timing for both intake and exhaust valve cycles), six individual throttle butterflies, an engine-oil scavenging pump (to keep things lubed during hard cornering), and a hi-po dual exhaust system with four outlets. It spools out a heady 333 hp to equal a nearly race-car-like 103 horsepower per liter! Only a few cars exceed this level of specific output (such as the Ferrari 360 Modena and Porsche Turbo) and that's not bad company, indeed. The only available transmission is the slick-shifting, close-ratio six-speed manual taken from the M5.

The M treatment also delivers handling and braking upgrades to match the uprated power; that means fabulous-looking M Sport 18-in. wheels and aggressive rolling stock and an M sport suspension including a special front-end thrust plate, rear subframe and V-brace (all in the name of additional rigidity), revised bushings, and uprated spring/shock/anti-roll bar tuning. The track is several inches wider and the steering ratio quicker than in other 3 Series models, and the brakes are M3-specific 12.8/12.6-in. vented discs with ABS and BMW's Dynamic Brake Control system.

The 3 Series interior is upgraded with comfortable yet ultra-supportive 10-way-adjustable M sport seats, Nappa leather all around, racy-looking metallic-black plastic dash inserts, one of the world's best-feeling steering wheels, and some subtle M identification. It would be hard to imagine a more comprehensively conceived, well-executed round of reinvention than what makes a 3 Series coupe into an M3.