1999 BMW M Coupe from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing.

This is a fantastic performance car which is seriously underrated by the public. Odd since it was voted Top Gear's Driver's Car of the Year in 2000 and was a favorite long term test car for Evo.

Forget what you hear about them being difficult handling cars. They're not, mine has no traction control, but feels much safer to drive fast than my previous 328i Sport Coupe. This is mainly due to a higher level of sensation than most modern cars.

For me its still too soft (you can potter around at under 2.5k revs and feel like you're in a regular Z3) but it is good compromise for a daily driving performance car.

Mine is performing in about the sub 5.0s to 60 and sub 13.0s to 100 range (measured with accelerometer). This is significantly slower than Evo's test which has 4.3 and 11.5 respectively. Still seriously fast though.

The engine (as you will probably expect) is brilliant. I was especially surprised by the amount of torque available from 2k revs. Above 2000 revs in any gear gives instant hard acceleration (even 4th and 5th). Amazing for such a high revving engine (peak power at 7400, limiter at about 8000).

And the styling? Well its better in the flesh than in pictures and it grows on you. However, no I don't think anywhere near as nice as a 911 (993).

Even in my amateur hands the handling feels great - partly due to the feedback, but also the short wheelbase you feel very connected to the rear wheels. Hence over-steer is very easy to detect and correct for (and power over-steer is very much possible in the first three gears).

In summary I am very happy with this motor - every time I drive it I am impressed all over again. To drive this feels much more like my old Porsche (an old 944S2 - which was fantastic) than a modern, soft BMW.

One question? Why in bloody hell have they stoped making a 4 door M3?

They didn't. And this either isn't an M3 or the review is in the wrong place.

No the M Coupe is quite a different car (with the same engine).

However the 4-door has gone (with the E46 M3) - presume it wasn't very popular. If you want a 4-door why not buy an M5?

Ps. I wrote the original article and my throttle was poorly adjusted so am now looking at more like 11s to 100! Not done a full measurement yet - will do very soon.

I have a 1999 M Coupe which has done 55,000kms. It is a fantastic, individual car for the discerning driver - with a stamp of individuality which you either lover or hate. I love it.

It goes like a scalded dingo (Aussie!), and is a joy on the race track or skid pan. It can do marvellous burnouts - if that is your thing, or figure of eights around witches hats for the skilled driver. Oh, did I mention it was fast. The limiting factor on race tracks is the driver. The fastest driver in our club drove an M Coupe - with modified brakes/ lines. The originals are easy to cook / warp, so get them slotted if you are a serious racer. They imported 150 in Australia. Some have been trashed racing so it is likely that rarity MAY be a factor in resale for the future. For all the M Coupe aspirants, I say this - Get One and Enjoy.

I bought my 2000 Estoril Blue Mcoupe in August as I needed a car for this years Cannonball 8000 to Budapest. Wow what a car, I had always loved the way it looked and so it was always going to be the car of choice for me, but my brother in law with whom I was doing the run had different views on the cars looks and insisted we spent time trawling the auto trader website searching for various 911's. After actually viewing one, his opinion changed straight away and he totally agreed with me and we set off in search of one, ending up with us buying ours from a chap in Richmond. The car proved the perfect choice during the rally, it was reliable, always started, used no oil and suffered no breakdowns as we rushed across Europe with the pack of exotics that included Lambo's, Bentleys, GT40's & everything else you would expect to see on such an event! we came in 44th out of 120 and the car tore along for hours at a time at over 150mph! what a car, it now lives in my garage as I wouldn't sell it for the world. You can view it on their website by going to www.cannonball8000.com and checking out this years event photos. (2006). The best car I've ever driven, ever!!!