Tag Archives: M3

The Ultimate Driving Machine

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The future of BMW M-cars is electric. And automatic. The current M2 is already confirmed to be the final manual M-car, and – if the horrendous new BMW XM is any indication – the future of BMW’s M-division looks fat, almost comically ostentatious, and immensely, unfathomably, ludicrously ugly. Make your own ‘Your Mom’ joke.

Which is probably why the original 1980s BMW ‘E30’ M3, weighing under 1,200kgs and powered by a four-cylinder engine that made less than 200bhp, is being seen as something of an antidote to the overblown ridiculousness of today’s M-cars.

This lovely Technic recreation of BMW’s M-car high water mark was found on Eurobricks, and comes from previous bloggee apachaiapachai. There’s remote control drive and steering courtesy of LEGO’s Control+ motors and app, opening doors, and that’s it. Which makes it every bit as wonderfully simple as the real E30 M3.

There’s more to see at the Eurobricks forum, and you can take a look via the link above.

One Time Winner

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This is a BMW M3. The first BMW M3 in fact, back when it was light, agile, and powered by just four cylinders.

Built as a homologation special for touring car racing, the E30-series M3 was not intended to compete at the highest level of the World Rally Championship, what with that being dominated by the four-wheel-drive Group B cars from Audi and Lancia.

However, for just one rally, in 1987, the E30 BMW M3 was untouchable. The Tour de Course is a tight, all-tarmac rally held on the island of Corsica, and it’s just like a (very long) touring car race. All-wheel-drive and enormous power didn’t matter, as Bernard Béguin proved by taking a start-to-finish victory in his BMW M3, the first and only time BMW has won a WRC event.

This incredible brick-built replica of the Rothmans-BMW M3 rally car is the work of Dennis Glaasker (aka bricksonwheels), who has recreated the 1987 Tour de Corse winner with astounding realism.

Around 2,000 LEGO parts have been used, detailing the exterior, rally-spec interior, and inline-4 turbocharged engine under the hood, with fellow previous bloggee JaapTechnic assisting Dennis with the build by designing the stunning replica Rothmans-BMW livery.

The result is one of the most life-like creations of the year so far, presented beautifully to Dennis’ usual impeccable standard. There’s more of this astonishing creation to see at Dennis’ ‘BMW M3 Rally’ album on Flickr, and you can find out more about how he creates his amazing creations such as this one via the Master MOCer series by clicking here.

Build-A-Beemer

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We’re not fan of BMW’s latest M-cars. Enormous grilles, enormous engines, and enormous bodywork… all things that aren’t really about driving enjoyment. Nor are many others it seems, as BMW’s compact first generation M3, with it’s small grille, small (4-cylinder) engine, and small bodywork is becoming incredibly valuable, as people look for M-cars from a simpler time.

This neat Speed Champions E30 series M3 comes from Flickr’s Rolling Bricks, and it captures the car’s boxy lines, flared arches, and square rear wing brilliantly. Rolling Bricks has made building instructions available too, so if you’d like to own a classic M3 you can create your very own at home.

Head to Rolling Bricks’ ‘BMW E30 M3’ album via the link above to view the complete gallery, and to find the all-important link to building instructions.

The Other M3

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This is not a fast, irritatingly driven yet excellent German sports saloon, but it is an M3. Constructed by Spain’s awesome indigenous heavy duty truck maker Uro, the M3 is the military version of their F3 civilian truck, deployed by Spain’s ‘Military Emergencies Unit’ (UME) in disaster relief within the country and abroad. Which makes it probably the very opposite of its BMW namesake in terms of worthiness.

This superb Technic replica of the Uro M3 in complete UME specification comes from corujoxx of Eurobricks, who is using his time in coronavirus lock-down to pay tribute to his country’s frontline workers, such as those manning its Uro M3s.

A working winch and working suspension feature and there’s more to see of his excellent model at the Eurobricks forum – click the link above to take a look.

Most Wanted

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The ‘Need for Speed’ franchise is to video games what ‘The Fast and the Furious’ franchise is to movies. Appalling physics, only the loosest of connections to racing or engineering accuracy, and yet… a right of motoring passage for probably most of you reading this.

The ‘Most Wanted’ episode in the ‘Need for Speed’ series arrived in 2005, pitting gamers against AI cops and featuring a heavily modified BMW M3 GTR E46 going sideways on the cover. This BMW M3 GTR in fact.

Suggested by a reader, this top quality recreation of the ‘Most Wanted’ cover star comes from previous bloggee Davanchi M who proves there’s still life in MOCpages once every so often. If Sean Kenney has decided to switch the servers on.

Head there via the link above and evade the cops like it’s 2005!

No School Like the Old School

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BMW’s M-cars have got ever more capable, and ever more silly. The latest M3 is phenomenal machine that is almost pointlessly over-powered. Still, it’s not an X6M so that’s worth celebrating.

Back in the 1980s BMW’s M-cars weren’t all about power though, as demonstrated by the first M3. The ‘E30’ series was only a four-cylinder and it only had around 200bhp, but it was small, light and agile, making about a billion times more fun than the current version. Which is why the values of E30 M3s have gone stratospheric.

Luckily SP_LINEUP has created a more attainable version, via his superb mildly modified 8-wide model, complete with opening doors and hood, and a roll cage inside the detailed interior. Head to Flickr via the link above to see more of SP’s brick-built recreation of the first – and best – M3 that BMW ever made.

Nice Paint Job

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bmw-m3

Only the toughest, most elite* of TLCB Elves is sent foraging in MOCpages nowadays.  “Bonk, Smash, Thud” isn’t just the noise of MOCpages breaking again, it’s also the sound of malnourished Elves collapsing with hunger.  It’s hard to find good Lego vehicles and get Smarties to eat when the site crashes for so long, so relatively regularly.  MOCpages has been the spiritual Lego home for many top quality builders over many years.  Sadly, more and more builders have become inactive there and fled to other websites.  However, there are still gems to found on the ‘pages.

A case in point are the cars built by Rene Scheruebl.  Rene’s latest vehicles are in the Lego Speed Champions, 6-wide scale.  They include a Mercedes 190 Evo, an Audi 200 V8 and the BMW M3 Sport Evolution featured here.  Building these cars must require very steady hands, as they all feature tiny decals and neatly painted stripes.  Whilst the techniques might offend purists, the results are impressive and well worth a visit to Rene’s MOCpages account; if the website happens to be working…

*Fattest actually.  The low chance of meal tokens is a good way to sneakily put them on a diet.

Black and Yellow

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Lego BMW M3 (E30)

BMW’s first generation M3 is one of our very favourite cars. Small, light, and not particularly powerful, it’s the antidote to the ridiculous ongoing power-war between the premium brands that’s resulting in ever faster, yet ever fatter and ever more expensive ‘drivers cars’.

Lego E30 BMW M3

The E30 M3 takes us back to basics, when drivers cars were about, well… driving. We’re not alone in thinking this either, as the values of these early M3s are soaring, putting them well out of reach of appearing in TLCB staff carpark.

Fear not though, as MOCpages’ Daniel H. has a plan to make the E30 BMW M3 a whole lot more affordable. Daniel’s slickly recreated Model Team replica of the famous sports saloon was suggested to us by a reader, and it’s available to vote for on the LEGO Ideas platform now.

Lego BMW M3 E30

Featuring a detailed interior, chassis and engine, plus opening doors, hood and trunk, Daniel’s M3 would make a superb addition to LEGO’s expanding officially-licensed vehicle line up.

You can see all the images at Daniel’s MOCpage via the link above, and you can vote for this creation to become an official LEGO set by clicking here.

Lego BMW M3

Mechanical Three

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Lego Technic BMW M3

BMW’s M3 super-saloon is still one of the best driver’s cars in the world. Over the years the M3 has got bigger, heavier, much more powerful, and much, much faster. But it has also become more electronic, less natural, and – although the YouTube statistician commenters will disagree – less fun.

This, the 1980s E30 M3, comes from a time when lightness, simplicity, modest power, and mechanical rather than electronic engineering created probably the best M-Car that BMW ever made, and this superb Technic recreation by damjan9PL/daminple mirrors its subject by going the same route.

There’s not a Power Functions motor anywhere, as instead the model focusses on Technic mechanics, with a working four-cylinder engine, independent suspension, working steering, adjustable seats and opening doors, hood and trunk.

You can see the E30’s full gallery on Brickshelf here, and you can join the discussion at the Eurobricks forum here.

Lego Technic BMW M3 E30

M3 Halftrack

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Halftrack-M3-500w

This WWII vintage M3 Halftrack is the work of Swedish builder =DoNe= (a.k.a. Viktor). The Elves were attracted to it as, despite it only being seven studs wide, there was loads of room in the front to drive it and even more space to climb in the back and play with the machine gun. We at TLCB Towers liked this MOC because of the neat techniques that Viktor has used to get the shape right for the front of the vehicle. The use of plates with clips to make the mudguards and radiator grille works very well. There’s also some nice parts usage in the running gear inside the tracks and the Technic pins in the windscreen frame. You can see more details of this build by clicking this link to its MOCpages listing. In the meantime, can anybody lend The Lego Car Blog some scissors? An Elf has got tangled in the Halftrack’s working winch and we’re going to have to cut him out…