As car enthusiasts, we often talk about sports cars quite seriously. Whether it be supercars and how fast they can go or hardcore sports cars and how quickly they can lap a given track, enthusiasts can often get worked up about their cars. However, there are some cars to which none of that stuff matters. The BMW Z3 M Coupe is one such car. While it is fast and it is capable, neither of those things are what it’s about. Instead, it’s just a silly little car that was designed for fun and literally nothing else.
In this new video from Jalopnik, we get to see why the BMW Z3 M Coupe is such a wonderful oddball. Its design, well, was barely designed. It started out life as a roadster but when the engineers wanted to make a better driver’s car out of it, they just slapped a roof on for stiffness. The design of the roof, or how the car looked after it was fitted, was barely a thought. The idea was ‘just give it a roof and let’s have some fun.’
You can tell just by looking at it. It’s hideous. While we love the Z3 M Coupe because it’s a hilarious good time, there’s no two ways about it — it’s ugly. It’s nickname is “Clown Shoe”. Clowns don’t wear over-sized shoes because they’re stylish. Having said that, it doesn’t matter because it was never about style. It was always about fun. And fun it delivered.
Despite its simple chassis and suspension setup, the BMW Z3 M Coupe was, and still is, a blast to drive. It’s quick, agile and very playful. Its steering is excellent and highly communicative and its chassis is very well balanced. It’s a pure driver’s car and nothing else. And that purity, that singular focus, is what makes it so good. It’s not worried about how it looks or how well it laps the Nurburgring. It’s only concern is putting a giant smile on the face of the driver.
