A little while back, Carwow did a drag race between some of the generations of BMW M3. The race featured the F80 BMW M3 CS, the E92 BMW M3 GTS, the E46 BMW M3 CSL and the E30 BMW M3. The only M3 generation left out was the E36 but, let’s face it, it’s not as good as these four cars.
Admittedly, we spoke about this drag race back when Carwow first posted it. Now, though, they’ve re-posted the video in 360-degrees, which allows you to see the race from an even cooler angle. The 360-degree camera was mounted to the top of the E46 M3 CSL, so we get to see how it compares to the other M3s in the race.
Right off the line, the new BMW M3 CS jumps ahead of the others. The other three, though, are surprisingly close. Considering that the E30 M3 is drastically under-powered compared to the E46 M3 CSL and E92 M3 GTS, it’s surprising that it kept up with them. Only for a second but, hey, that’s something, right?
Then the E92 GTS flies ahead of the the E30 and the E46, the latter of which flies ahead of the E30. Still, this race is the F80 M3 CS’ and it’s not even close. Its twin-turbocharged 464 hp engine allows it to just be leaps and bounds faster than every other M3 generation before it.
It must be said though, that this victory doesn’t make the BMW M3 CS the best M3 of all, it’s just the fastest. Hell, in terms of pure driver enjoyment, it might be the worst M3 in the test, with the other three being truly sensational. Personally, it I were handed the keys of all of these cars for a weekend flog in the canyons, the F80 M3 CS would be the last set I grabbed. Still, it’s impressive just how fast it is. And it’s cool to see the race in 360-degrees.
