Yahoo Autos Here's How Badly BMW Neutered the E36 M3 for the U.S. Market
If you're a BMW fan, you probably already know how American buyers got a watered-down version of the E36 M3. In order to cut costs, many of the key features present on the European version of the car didn't make it to our market. Here's every way BMW neutered the U.S.-market E36 M3, from major changes to tiny omissions.
The biggest difference was the engine. When the E36 M3 first premiered both versions received a 3.0-liter inline six motor and a five-speed manual. However, the European version got a more advanced VANOS system and individual throttle bodies, giving it 286 horsepower as compared to the U.S. market's 240 horsepower. Later, when the displacement was increased to 3.2 liters, the European version's power was upped to 321 ponies, while the American car stayed at 240 horsepower but got 11 more lb.-ft. of torque, to 236 lb.-ft.
When the switch to a bigger engine happened, the European cars also received a brand new six-speed manual to replace the five-speed unit. In America, however, we were stuck with the five-speed, and eventually got an automatic option. Lucky us?
And that's not all. BMW made so many little changes in bringing the M3 stateside, the result was hardly an M3 at all. Let Alex Kersten explain in this slightly over-the-top CarThrottle video.
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