Odball — Is the BMW Z3 M Coupe as Interesting as It Looks?

The BMW Z3 was an interesting car. In most guises, it's a fairly forgotten, distant relative in the BMW family, but from its release in 1995 until production ended in 2002, it was always a cool-looking retro roadster, and it even had a brief moment in the limelight as a Bond car in Goldeneye.

The trouble was, being the first BMW to be solely manufactured outside Germany, its US build quality wasn't quite what you'd expect from Munich, and what it offered in style, it didn't quite match in performance. Sure, the six-cylinder models that joined the lineup in 1996 weren't exactly slow for their time, but with a fairly flexy chassis, it was more stylish cruiser than ultimate driving machine. That is, until the M division got involved.

Power and parts were donated from the E36 M3, but in Germany, you can't just add power to such a chassis, shout. "yee-haw!" and hope for the best, and even after a pretty decent chassis overhaul, even the M Roadster suffered in the same way. So to prove how serious they were about chassis rigidity, BMW engineers developed a whole new body style in their spare time to resolve the issue and help the Z3 cope with a proper engine.

The resulting Z3M Coupe is what you might call a Marmite car. Some call it the clown shoe because of its unique side profile, some more affectionately call it the bread van. Whatever you call it, it's rare, it's cool, values have taken off, and thanks to our friends at Car Iconics, we're going to find out how it drives.

When I arrived at Car Iconics HQ, the M Coupe was sat outside to greet me. Most examples were finished in Estoril Blue, a colour which was unique to M cars back then, and they do look great in that shade, but Titan Silver lets the car speak for itself and contrasts perfectly with the black and red two-tone leather interior. It's such a small car by today's standards and the proportions make it look like a purposeful mini hotrod, with a long bulging bonnet and the bulk of the body squat over the rear wheels.

Inside, just like out, it's compact and simple. It's showing its age, but the deliberately retro styling means it sort of gets. away with it. Most importantly, the driving position is spot on and the seats are fantastic for a car of the late '90s.

The engine is fired into life by a turn of a basic old plastic key I remember from an E39 5 Series my dad had when I was a kid, but the engine it ignites is anything but simple. Early American cars had the 552 engine with a measly 240bhp, but this UK model has the S50 engine from the E36 M3 with a much more healthy 316bhp. Later cars had the 554 from the E46 M3 and they're particularly rare. They came with drive-by-wire throttle and a wider power band, but headline performance was much unchanged.

The power goes to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual and absolutely nothing else. This car comes from a golden era where performance was high but electrical nannies were yet to come and spoil the fun — that’s a combination we like!

First impressions are that the cable throttle is extremely heavy and all the controls take a nice, deliberate input. The engine is smooth and surprisingly hushed at low revs too, then as you push beyond 4,000rpm the metallic rasp of the older M3s kicks in along with the bulk of the power band. It feels linear, but it builds the closer you get to the 7,500rpm redline, so it's worth winding out and it's actually pretty quick when you do. It's still fairly muted as '90s cars tend to be, but given how the similar S54 motor sounds in the M3 CSL, this thing certainly has some aural potential should you fancy amplifying things a little.

As for handling, my mum had a 1.9 litre 23 when I was a kid, and back then, that was a cool car to me, but I still remember how flexy it felt, especially with the top down, and whether you want to call it a coupe, breadvan, clown shoe or anything else you can think of, the fixed roof has certainly done the trick. Bends and bumps don't upset it like the topless models and the boulevard cruiser now feels more like a proper sports car.

The steering is light and a little vague at low speed, another trait common in late '90s cars, and quite a bit of steering angle is required compared to sports cars of today. Another surprising area where it really does differ from even sporty saloons of today is the suspension. So many cars nowadays are needlessly firm to give the impression of sportiness, whereas the Z3M feels very softly sprung.

The resulting ride is comfortable and, whilst it can be a little floaty, a bit of roll gives you a real sensation of what's going on underneath you and it doesn't get thrown off track by uneven surfaces, so it's a fantastic tool for a British B road, especially given how small it is by today's standards. It's light for over 300bhp too at 1,390kg, so its agile and, despite being a '90s M car, the brakes feel more than a match for the power as they were robbed from the heavier E36 M3 along with the engine.

I didn't quite know what to expect coming into this one. Performance cars from 20 years ago can often feel a bit sluggish and out of their depth when you're used to modern machinery, and whilst I'm sure a Golf R would teach it a thing or two on a twisty road, the Z3M is still a quick car and, most importantly, it's rewarding with it.

You have to work the engine hard to extract its performance, match the revs on downshifts yourself and remember there's no safety net if you get a bit too eager. It's a revelation when you drive something small and light nowadays, and whilst the suspension is very soft by modern standards, it means it can take challenging surfaces in its stride, and there's something cool about the nose lifting under acceleration isn't there?

It's what I'd call a momentum car, where you learn to be smooth and carry your speed. You don't just jump in, point and shoot. You work every last horse from the engine, revel in changing gear yourself along with the naturally- aspirated responsiveness and get into a real flow. It’s a refreshingly back-to-basics experience where you're responsible for everything the car does.

This particular car has covered just 25,000 miles in just over 20 years since new and that lovely two-tone red and black leather I mentioned earlier still looks almost new. It's for sale at Car Iconics for a fiver under £40,000, so congratulations if you managed to pounce on one for less than half that a few years ago, but even at the money they're fetching now, they seem like a safe bet as an almost guaranteed future classic.

There's nothing else quite like it, and skunkworks projects born from a group of engineers' curiosity rather than a boardroom of bean counters' greed always make for much more interesting cars, so for me, the Z3M Coupe is absolutely deserving of classic status, and the most important part from an Supercar Driver point of view, it's an investment you'll actually enjoy driving.

Written by: Matt Parker

Now you've read all about it, if you want to see the Z3 M in action, we also produced a driven video which you can check out below.