The BMW Z3 M Coupe is one of the more forgotten BMW M cars. While most BMW enthusiasts know the Z3 M Coupe well and are quite fond of the little Clown Shoe, the general public either never knew about it or chose to forget about it. The reasoning behind the disdain for the Z3 M Coupe lies squarely in its looks. Unfortunately, it was possibly the strangest looking Bimmer in recent memory. BMW fans like the car despite the looks, but it’s a pretty unanimous agreement that it’s an ugly car. But looks aside, there’s still very good reason to own one and Mr. Regular drives on in this latest video to show us why.
If you’re wondering what makes the Z3 M Coupe a car worth buying, you need not look further than under the hood. Under the long bonnet lies a 3.2 liter inline-six engine from the E46 BMW M3, sporting individual throttle bodies with a butterfly valve on each one and makes 315 hp. All of that power is sent to the rear wheels via a good ole fashioned five-speed manual gearbox. All of that fun is packed into a car that’s the size of a shoe and doesn’t weigh much more than one, either. In the video, stomping the go-pedal makes the Z3 M Coupe take off like a superbike and launches into traffic, making a beautiful, metallic, typical BMW inline-six noise.
In the article by Mr. Regular, he depicts the original design meeting for the car as a sort of Hunter S. Thompson-esque drug-induced bender. The reasoning for this depiction is the sort of madness that seems to be embedded into the M Coupe. It looks ridiculous, has no real purpose, is a hatchback for unknown reasons as it isn’t any practical and has a strange looking dog cage behind the front seats. However, madness aside, the M Coupe is an absolute riot to drive and is one of the more fun BMWs from the ’90s. The Z3 M Coupe isn’t much different from cars like the X6 M, which serve no real purpose other than being hilarious good fun.
But watching the video makes me yearn for the days when BMWs were simple and full of fun. Today’s BMWs are excellent, but they’re a bit serious. You don’t get the feeling that the engineers are having much fun anymore. Back in the day of the Z3 M Coupe, you got the sense that some BMWs were originally thought up by a couple of engineers in a pub, after a couple of Spatens, and had their first sketches drawn on a napkin after a couple of laughs. “Look, vee can make zee trunk a hatch for no reason, but it vill be funny looking, ya!’ That’s the sort of conversation I imagine, anyway.
But these are the BMWs that inspire enthusiasts to go out and buy from the brand. I don’t know about you, but after watching the video I went straight to the internet to see if I could find a Z3 M Coupe for sale. So strange looks aside, the Z3 M Coupe is still a car that makes enthusiasts yearn for it. So thanks, Mr. Regular, now I’m going to see if the Clown Shoe fits me.
