Found a recent 3 door RWD compact...
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Compact
Only sold in the US from 95-98 before they discontinued due to lack of sales.

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

2800lbs but only 140PS for $20k. And 5 inches taller than the FT-86. I looked and they are super rare.

Attachment 2064

Discuss.

I remember those! Remember the C200 couple MB released that was supposed to compete with that thing.

http://images.sytner.co.uk/w3images/...ew_image_1.jpg

Every time I saw a BMW E36 3-door in North America it was always a women driving it.

Just what I have found...

Finding them here is easy. Finding them with manual transmissions is hard. They are pretty cheap too.

One nice one at one of the local BMW dealers (probably works there), basically that car with all M3 aero/appearance. Haven't seen it driving so I don't know if it has the go to match the show.

That sounds like an awesome idea for a project though -- Take one of those little things and put all the M3 goodies on/in it.

:burnrubber:

Like this

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/...4e6fe61d6f.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/...477e5a9d47.jpg

NO! That is an affront to the M badge. As someone who has a non-M BMW, I can definitely say that....It would be a disgrace to make it look like an M5 even.

I feel as if whenever I see one of these silly things they are always all "M'ed" out. There was one in the oncoming lane as I was driving home from work the other day and I gave him a thumbs up thinking it was a properly clean E36 M3 from the front, looked in my rear view when he passed and just shook my head in disgust.

Locally some guy is selling it for $3,800 (MT trans).

I used to have quite the fascination with those 318ti's....

The one I see looks good, but I'm still holding judgement on it based on performance. I've seen an AC Schnitzer one that is full M3 powertrain in it. That is pretty sick.

But I heard that they use the previous generation rear suspension in the 318ti's not same as the coupes and sedans. True?

I want this sponsor for my FT86!!!

BF-Goodrich? :bellyroll: :bellyroll: :bellyroll:

Would that be the German version of "rice" or shall I say sauerkraut. ;):bellyroll:

btw, that red one I posted did the M3 motor conversion so that is more like AE86 SR5 to GT-S conversions the many do.

187 too!! That's hilarious! :bellyroll:

That is the most awesome BMW of all time.

Powertrain swap (IMO) makes it acceptable. But when you think about the people who "M out" their non-M cars...what's the first thing they buy? Drivetrain? Suspension? No...Badges.


:bellyroll: Schnitzle is also acceptable

Nice.

I found one with an auto for $2k. 4 listings on craigslist, going to get desperate eventually. I think I could handle driving an auto until I swap it for a manual or until the FT-86 delivers.

More like an awesome car to cherish until you drive it into the ground :bellyroll:.

Intriguing, since this is the first I've ever heard of this car.

Ichi...I don't know what to think. :iono:

:lol:

I guess he's not into remotely controlling a dildo for a German cam girl... :iono:

(Serious. Guess who checked the website... :) )

Considering that later model year 318ti sport package cars came with the m3 aero parts and all clubsports also came with it then it seems you should have just shaken your head in digust at your lack of knowledge of the car. That was likely a stock body car, not German rice or an affront to the M badge. Heck Clubsports came out of the m shop even.

These cars with an LSD and e36 m3 power train are awesome cars to drive.

Ive liked them for 15 years now :)

Well, if that's your kind of thing but what does that have to do with what I said?

It uses the old semi trailing arm rear suspension design instead of the standard multilink rear design found in other e36s

Um, I was talking about the dirty cam girl sponsor, and he was talking about tires.

Plenty of those BMW's here. They are very ugly, I MUCH prefer the coupe.
E36 + LS1 = bliss!

For the better packaging is what it says on the Wiki article. Does it make a significant difference?

We only got a few years of this car. I don't disagree that it looks like a ugly chopped 3 series. But it's more of a practical thing than looks. I find ugly cars that are better in every other way endearing. The only thing this car is lacking besides style is power.

Semi trailing arm (Mk2 Supras have these):
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7720/trailingarm.jpg

It's basically like a MacPherson strut, but mounted diagonally. Same camber limitations, but with a toe change as well.

Multilink (Mk3 Supra, they call it double wishbone, but it's really multilink):

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/5433/browse1.png

More camber and toe control options, but visibly way less space efficient.


So the 318ti probably traded some handling benefits for more hatch storage space.

Sounds about right. cool info!

Covered in the post after yours. They tend to be a bit more lively. I've never driven a stock one so I'm not sure how they feel stock.

BMW M has one true M3 Compact E36 in theie garage. It was built as one-off model and never ever produced.

there was also a 323ti with a 2,5l inline six and 170hp.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4...0035be3re8.jpg

and a e46 version: the 325ti 2,5l inline six with 192hp
http://www.netcarshow.com/bmw/2003-325ti_compact/

So they had an M3 badge on there too huh? :clap:


It was rice and it WAS an affront to the M badge. But not as bad as the smart car I saw with an M badge a few years back. I mean unless you can explain that to me. It still confuses me to this day.

They came in M-Sport versions as well, and had M-sport accessories available, which is more likely why they have m-badges rather than the cause being that they are "riced out". Well.... they maybe factory rice if anything lol

So now it had an M3 badge? You never mentioned that in your original post, instead said that you saw the M3 front and shook your head in digust at it being fake/"M'ed out". And you saw this M badge in detail, both of you travelling at X MPH in different directions?

Based on your post you were clearly incorrect, because I doubt you even knew versions of the car came with the M3 aero treatment.

If you meant the side badge, guess what, BMW put it there. Yes, there's a ///M badge on the side, from the factory for the correct package cars.

While I agree that adding any badge that doesn't belong is stupid/rice (I also feel that way about switching a Scion badge to a Toyota badge on a FR-S, or an Integra's Acura badge to a Honda badge, etc), I'm not convinced that the car you saw had ANY additional badging. :shrug:

Bingo.

A lot of BMW people flat out ignore the cars because of the size and motor and then talk crap when one has a ///M badge.. the same one it shipped from the factory with.

Granted, maybe he did see an ///M3 badge on the trunk, which would be rice, but I doubt it based on his posts...

I didn't mean cosmetics crap only. I meant a FULL ///M conversion -- engine, suspension, etc. Badge swaps don't really fall under "project car" status.

It really doesn't matter. Maybe it was just an M badge and my eyes fooled me but knowing traffic in that area we couldn't have been going over 30 each.

Either way, I don't think BMW should have put M badges on their to begin with. That in and of itself is a disgrace to the M brand. My car has M badges inside that I could do without but at least no one sees that nor do I pretend to have an M car. BMW will put M stuff on a non-M car for sales. That's stupid.


Now deal with it because that's my opinion and you can keep yours. Plus I will GLADLY admit I did not know they offered that car with the M bumpers. Great way to get sales, but I don't respect it as being an M car, just an imitator.

So did they have actual performance parts like suspension or just badges and goody accessories?

to put this in perspective...
the m-factory is a brand by it self that offers performance parts for bmw. including things like suspension, rims, aerokits, etc.

if you order a bmw with a m-packet you get m-badges on floormates, gearstick and the exterior.

The Clubsports and Sport package cars which would have the M tecnic aero had a stiffer suspension, sport seats, bigger wheels/summer tires, so it wasn't a appearance only package.

In the end, the M tecnic stuff is just an "factory aftermarket" company or whatever you want to call it. No different from factory Toyota's with TRD stuff, Ford SVT stuff, Mugen Honda stuff, etc. The options in some cases can be ordered differently, and in some cases the options aren't available unless you buy the car that "shop" designed (like SVT).

Clubsports were done by the M group, same as the M3. The 96+ sports are pretty close to the Clubsports, just by BMW directly.

I was talking about the 318TI Clubsport specifically. I had read some rumors of M performance parts, mostly just suspension upgrades and wider tires but I didn't know if they had offered them for the 318TI. And of course aero is a big deal for me, although I would like to know how much difference the aero kit makes on the coefficient or how much downforce it adds at 62mph(100KPH) etc.

Kind of sad that they killed it. The replacement 1 series hatch improves the looks by quite a bit and besides the standard straight 6's they offer a decent 2.0L with good power, 169BHP. It weighs closer to 3000lbs now but that is onpar with the new compacts and it has RWD. I would take a balanced RWD over a more fuel efficient FWD any day.

Edit: Just checked the website and apparently the 2.0L N45 is only available on the 120i coupe in the UK and starts at £23k Pounds vs the 135I M Sport that we get that starts at £33k($39k to the US). The 3 and 5 doors only get the 1.6L Petrol and 1.8L Diesel. Which are less than enthusiastic.

Well the 96+ Sports had wider tires, 225s instead of 205s. I am not 100% sure if Clubsports did also, they are pretty darn rare in the US. From what I can recall they made several hundred, but that's not a lot of cars. I've seen far more 96+ Sport package cars than clubsports, and I can't even say for sure that the one clubsport I've seen was real, as it was a built time trial car, not much was stock.

the Z3 Roadsters share the same platform with the compact E36... just btw.

And I have one of these little compacts as DD. They´re reliable, cheap, quick enough to drive to work and back, have enough space in the trunk for a 2 people household...