Few performance cars are adored like the original BMW M3. We’re talking the E30, built in the 1980s in understated style and the four-pot S14 screaming under the hood. It’s a no-nonsense formula, however, here we have the packing power of the E30 M3 from… Toyota? Maybe now BMW aficionados understand how Supra fans feel.
The engine in the BMW set up for this race is the 2JZ, so of course there’s no harm in power. Actually, that is it right no harm, because this iconic inline-six is not far from stock. We don’t know the list of engine modifications, nor do we know any other mods in this BMW. Per the video, the mod list alone will likely require the 10-minute feature on its own, but here are a few things to note. This is a dry sump setup with a fuel cell running on E90 racing fuel. The car is gutted, locked up, and a sequential transmission sends power to the rear wheels. How much power? No less than 1,300 horsepower to the wheels. So yeah, this E30 move.
That fact became very clear in just a few seconds of entering the Nürburgring. The car accelerates from 30 to about 130 mph in 10 seconds, and it’s not a full-speed boom as we see the driver’s right foot floating on the pedal through the pull. Luckily, traffic was smooth on the Nordschleife, so we enjoyed a lot more in-car action from the top of the E30 clipping and accelerated to very impressive speeds. Car hits 163 mph earlier in Kottenborn and almost match it when climbing the hill Kesselchen, reaching 159 mph. And frankly, the pace looks conservative in this context.
We wanted to tell you the awesome bridge-to-gantry times for this Toyota-powered Bimmer, but the race car gremlin brought the laps to an early close. At the back of the track near Brunnchen, the driver is very slow. Several discussions ensued between the driver and co-driver, during which the video was cut to the pits. Apparently, the M3 is thin with two stud lugs on the left rear wheel, and there may be some driveshaft issues as well. Such is life with a 1,300-hp race car.
So yes, there may be irony in the classic BMW M3 tearing up the race track with a Toyota engine. But there’s no denying that this old E30 is insanely fast.
