BMW Z3 M Coupe

The story

The M Coupe was an engineers' project that got past the accountants on one condition: it had to be cheap to build. So the doors, the cabin and nearly everything ahead of the windshield came straight from the Z3, while the money went into a roof and bracing that made the body roughly 2.6 times as stiff in torsion as the open car. Behind the seats sat a long glass hatch over a surprisingly deep cargo bay. The 5-speed gearbox was simply what the budget allowed, and the long nose and stubby tail came out looking like nothing else on the road.

Drive one and the laughter stops. The steering chatters with information, the straight-six grows louder and more urgent past 5,000 rpm, and the short wheelbase and old semi-trailing-arm rear axle mean a sudden lift mid-corner can bring the tail around in a hurry. It rewards a deft driver and punishes a lazy one. Only 6,291 were built, and the final S54 cars, with 315 hp in US trim, are the ones collectors chase. The Z4 M Coupe that replaced it was faster and calmer, yet never inspired quite the same devotion.