88 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motorandoneofthebestsoundtracksoutthere,readon...
Thesofterchassisactuallymeansverylittleintherealworld.
Youcansensesomeflexovertheworstroadsurfaces,butwhen
you’repressingonalonga goodroad,orbetterstillonanalpine
pass,thisRoadsterisimpressive.Griplevelsarerightinthe
Goldilockszone.Pushhardandthere’sverylittleundersteer,
withoversteeronly coming intoplaywhen you provoke it.
There’sa compliant nature that’ssurprisingconsidering the
parts-binnatureofthiscar’sunderpinnings,butthenit’squite
a partsbinbeingpillaged.TheMPowerengineersextractedthe
verybestfromthesetupavailable.
Braking performance is progressive and strong, allowing
forheavyleaningonthestoppers.Thesteeringisexceptional.
There’sa wonderfullyanaloguefeeltothisold-schoolhydraulic
rack-and-pinionsetup.It wasgreatintheM3,a perfectexample
of‘ifit ain’tbroke,don’tfix it.’Turninandthe MRoadster
respondswithanimmediacythat’srarelyequalledinanysoft-
topthissideofa LotusElise.Theweightingisperfect,too.
Gearchangesarea bitontheheftysidebutthethrowisnice
andshort.Clutchoperationis alsoa bitheavy.Notthatyouneed
toworry,astherealjoyfromthiscarcomesbydelayingeach
changeandlettingthatparty-pieceenginedoitsthing.
TheS50engineinthisearlycarfeedsonrevs,making its
peak236kWat7500rpm,azonemostwillbeveryhappyto
explore.Onceit’suptotemperature,
andwitha suitablesectionoftraffic-
freecountryroadahead,givetheright
pedal a heavy press and hang on.
Pullingoutofa well-sightedjunction
at near full revs in first causes the
rear tobreak traction.Short-shifting
to secondpacifies it, the rear tyres
chirpinginprotestastheMRoadster
stopsslitheringandstraightensup.
Extendingsecondgeartotheredline
brings up the national speed limit.
There’sjusttimetocatchyourbreath.
Whenthosehugereartyresfindsome
grip,theMRoadsterchargestoward
thehorizonlikeit’scomeout of a slingshot, accompanied by
thefullaudiblemajestyofone of Garching’s greatest six-cylinder
engines.It’ssovisceralitseems as if you can hear every valve
openingandclosingwitheach rotation of the camshafts. You
don’tgetthatintheCoupe.
Afteranall-to-brieftime behind the wheel, we’re sold. Those
bulgingarchesandquadexhausts promised that this Z3 would
havea meanstreak,andit’s a pleasure to say that it’s every bit
theanimalwe’dhopedfor.
I knowconvertibleshave a slightly wimpy image. I’m as guilty
asthenextpersonofoften overlooking them. They’re not the
heroicchoiceforthetruedriving enthusiast.
However, this M Roadster is the exception to
therule.Itsthuggishlooksare backed up by a soundtrack that’ll
scaretheneighboursona Sunday morning. Put simply, the M
Roadsterisa musclecarthat happens to lack a roof. If you can’t
squarethesoft-topimagein your head, you can always buy a
removablehard-top.You’ll certainly be able to afford one if you
chooseanMRoadsterover a Coupe.
As M Power machines lose cylinders with each new
generation, there will come a time in the not-too-distant future
when the vast appeal of an old-school, naturally aspirated
BMW six-cylinder engine will become much clearer to a wider
audience. With the price hikes that will inevitably follow, you’ll
wish you’d bought a good M Roadster when you had the chance.
That time is now.THE M POWER
ENGINEERS
EXTRACTED THE
VERY BEST FROM
THE SETUP
AVAILABLE
OPPOSITE
It’sfasterandbetter
dynamicallythan
MX-5softhisera,but
it isalsopronetorust,
especiallyaroundthe
jackingpointsONE
Analogue centre
console dials are a
popular upgrade with
non-M Z3 and E36
3 Series owners – we
don’t mind them eitherTWO
Named after the
famous former
Formula One racetrack
in Portugal, Estoril
Blue is one of the most
popular BMW shadesTHREE
Water pumps can
fail due to worn or
broken impeller blades
that can crumble
and partially block
the cooling system,
leading to overheating➜
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