The car the M3 name exists for: a homologation special built to let BMW compete in Group A touring cars and the DTM, which required 5,000 road cars plus a further 500 “evolution” specials.[1] Under the bonnet sits the BMW S14, a high-revving four-cylinder built around a cylinder head derived from the M1 supercar’s straight-six and a block from the ordinary M10 four. The S14 is an unusually exotic engine for what was, on paper, a compliance exercise.
Three evolutions are recorded here: the standard 1986 M3, the mechanically revised Evolution II of 1988, and the 1990 Sport Evolution, whose enlarged 2.5-litre engine and adjustable aerodynamics were the final, most powerful factory version. No torque figure is published in the source for the base 1986 car, so that field is left empty rather than estimated from the later, better-documented Evolution models.
Kerb weight is recorded only at generation level: the one published figure covers a 1,165-1,360 kg range across the whole run rather than any single trim, from a period road test rather than a factory specification sheet.
