Rare 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution Is Today's Bring a Trailer Pick
The original BMW M3 was created for Group A's 5000-unit homologation rules, but a subsection of those regs allowed even hotter "evolution" models to race if 500 were made.
BMW's fastest E30-generation M3 "Evo," the Sport Evolution got an enlarged engine, an adjustable rear wing, and many other bits BMW wanted for racing.
Just 600 M3 Sport Evolutions were built, and they weren't sold new in North America, making this French-market car a rear rarity.
The 1980s gave us many wild homologation specials, but few cast as long a shadow as the original E30-series BMW M3. The car was designed as a track weapon for Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) and other FIA Group A touring car series, and BMW had to build 5000 roadgoing M3s to make them race legal. In the process, it created an uncompromising, sharp-handling, box-flared hero that's now one of the most beloved BMWs ever made. What could be better? An even hotter factory-issue E30 M3, of course.
This 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution, up for auction on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver is part of Hearst Autos) is the final and fastest of a trio of M3 "Evos." In creating them, BMW was trying to stay ahead of a Group A arms race.
Created in 1982, the Group A formula aimed to make racers more like regular road cars than the outgoing Group 2 rules. Early on, it worked, becoming the formula for many global series, including DTM, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC), and the World Rally Championship. But like a Pirate's code, racing homologation rules often invite creative interpretation. Automakers soon spotted a Crater Lake-sized regulatory loophole.
After the initial 5000 cars were made, they could homologate more specialized "Evolution" models if they built at least 500 of them. Thus began the age of the Evo, which in DTM and ETCC spawned cars like the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16, Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, and Volvo 240T. In Volvo's case, it built 505 cars but later stripped many of them of their performance gear and sold them as normal 240s, leading other automakers to protest. Pirate's code indeed.
With the 6-series fading in 1985, the original BMW M3 was meant to conquer Group A, and it did. The M3's shell was based on the regular E30 two-door, but was lighter, wider, and more aerodynamic. It's high-revving heart, the four-cylinder S14 engine, pumped out 197 horsepower (plenty for a 2.3-liter four back then) mated to a close-ratio Getrag five-speed and a limited-slip rear diff. Bigger brakes, revalved shocks, stiffer springs, and thick anti-roll bars also featured, which at first was enough.
Fast on the track and remarkably well sorted on the road, the light, lithe M3 quickly racked up win after win, ultimately taking more than 1400 racing podiums globally including two DTM championships, two ETCC crowns, and the 1987 Tour De Corse Rally in the hands of future Subaru masters ProDrive. Creating that streak going meant continually improving the car.
The first M3 Evolution in 1987 (505 built) got a revised cylinder head but few other changes. The 1988 Evolution 2 (501 made) got more changes including a higher compression ratio, a hotter cam, thinner side glass, and more aerodynamic spoilers. By late 1989, ETCC had collapsed amid spiraling racing costs, but that December BMW created another radical M3 Evo for DTM: the Sport Evolution.
For this ultimate M3, the S14 six was bored and stroked to 2.5 liters, given bigger valves, an even hotter cam, and other internal updates for 238 horsepower. The side glass was further thinned, and the Sport Evolution had lighter bumpers and a smaller fuel tank. The bumpers were made even more aerodynamic, and brake-cooling ducts replaced the fog lights. The tail spoiler got an adjustable extension with three settings: Monza, Normal, and Nürburgring (for maximum downforce). A total of 600 were made, all in black or red.
None of the M3 Evos were sold in the U.S., but they aren't actually the rarest E30 M3s. The convertibles and special editions named for racers Johnny Cocetto and Gianfranco Brancatelli are rarer, but the Sport Evolution is the fastest factory E30 M3. That means bragging rights and investment potential, not to mention just plain fun.
This French-spec M3 Sport Evolution was sold new by Corsican BMW dealer François Bernardini and imported to the U.S. in 2018. Just after importation it had quite a bit of maintenance work, including new gaskets and various seals, a replacement fuel tank, and many renewed suspension bits including the shocks and bushings. Since it shows just 48,000 kilometers (30,000 miles), it's possible it needed all that freshening after a period of disuse.
Whatever the reason, it's here now and ready to go. This is a rare chance to grab a low-mileage example of the ne plus ultra of E30 M3s, but you'll need deep pockets. Recent sales of these rare Bimmers have seen bids in excess of $180,000. This auction ends on May 5.
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