It takes commitment and unvarying enthusiasm to establish traditions; just ask anyone who’s tried to keep high-school or college reunions going on a regular basis. So it’s especially impressive that three BMW CCA members, James Liu, Tony Rausch, and John Henriquez, have maintained the E30 M3 SIGFest event for more than twenty years.
The 2024 SIGFest—SIG for Special Interest Group—marked the 23rd anniversary of the event. It’s not easy to find a suitable venue; the event needs some space because it draws a lot of E30 M3s. Most of them come from New Jersey, but some appear from other states, and the 2024 event brought together 74 E30 M3s, with around 150 members and guests on hand to admire them.
The E30 M3 may be the single most important car in defining BMW’s success as a maker of sport sedans used in competition. Built for the sole purpose of qualifying for a racing class, the E30 M3 was produced from 1986 to 1991 (although it was sold in the U.S. only from 1988). As a racer, it was the most successful touring car in history, winning the 24 Hours of Nürburgring five times and the Spa 24 Hours four times, along with notching several touring-car world championships around the world.
Most M3s at SIGFest had some modifications, even if it was just a carbon-fiber intake for the S14 engine.
The first E30 M3 Special Interest Group gathering was held in 1999—and eleven cars came. SIGFest has grown substantially as the car has become rare and valuable. The event is traditionally held in New York-New Jersey; the 2024 venue filled a parking lot at the Columbia University Lamont Campus on the Hudson River in Palisades, New York. The event kicked off on Friday night with a dinner at the Brownstone Pancake Factory in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, which drew around 35 E30 M3 owners and enthusiasts.
Any BMW enthusiast enjoys seeing dozens of E30 M3s together in one place, but there must be something other than its appearance that has kept E30 M3 fans loyal more than 30 years after it was last sold. “I would put that down to the joy of the drive,” says Mario Langsten of Vintage Sports & Restoration in Bedford, New Hampshire, one of the sponsors of SIGFest. “This car has a direct connection between road and driver, but you must drive them hard to really understand them. Even now, as the cars are getting old, they’re still relevant. It’s still the measuring stick.”
E30 M3 “brain trust” includes Don Fields (left), Marc Norris (middle), and Mario Langsten.
Don Fields is well known among E30 M3 owners as “Mr. M Car,” and echoes Langsten. “To quote a fantastic woman driver from South Africa, ‘You don’t drive it, you wear it.’ That is just so true of the E30 M3. It’s a special car; it won’t win any races from stop light to stop light, but if you put this car into its environment on a track or on a long twisty road, it just comes into its own. There’s no other car that gives as much feedback and sensation to the driver. It’s fantastic.”
The E30 M3s at SIGFest vary widely in condition and originality. It’s difficult to find all-original cars these days, but there were some at SIGFest, with everything from heavily modified cars with engine transplants to DTM-inspired road cars and full-on racing machines. Cars were largely arranged by color, with white being the most popular.
Jorge Rodriguez’s DTM replica took three or four years to finish.
Two very special M3s were there to honor Gary Bossert, who passed away in November 2022 after a long illness. Bossert was an active member of the New Jersey Chapter of the BMW CCA; a regular from the beginning at SIGFest, he was one of the first to participate in BMW CCA Club Racing with the E30 M3. His race car was displayed SIGFest next to his father Al’s road car (shown in the top photo). Bossert’s widow, Kara; his kids, Gary Jr. and Elise; and his father, Al, were all at the event to share memories with fellow enthusiasts.
SIGFest organizers always create unique trophies, and the 2024 awards were especially stylish. James Liu developed the concept, working with another enthusiast to have an S14-engine valve cover scanned and 3D-printed by a shop that creates industrial and scientific prototype parts. The Best of Show award went to Mike Gallino and his 1990 M3 Cabriolet, which is well known in E30 M3 circles and looks fresh out of the showroom.
Mike Gallino’s M3 Cabriolet (foreground) won the Best of Show award.
The Best Modified award went to Ruben Frias for his 1989 M3 with Hartge upgrades.
Ruben Frias’ M3 won Best Modified.
Jay Holt won the Best Stock award for his 1990 M3; it now has nearly 170,000 miles on it. Michael Dabrew and his 1990 M3 won the Road Warrior award given to the individual who most uses the E30 M3 in “the way it was intended.”
The SIG Meisters Choice award is chosen by the three organizers. In 2024, it went to the Bossert family for the 1988 M3 race car on display. In addition, the Bossert family presented the inaugural Gary Bossert Memorial Award, to be given to someone who embodies the spirit of a true enthusiast and enjoys taking their cars to the track, collecting cars that they are impassioned with, and traveling the world to enjoy automotive experiences. Chet Marfatia was the recipient of the Bossert award; he was there with his 1990 M3 Sport Evolution—a real one!
The Bossert Family accepts the Sig Meisters Choice award from Tony Rausch and James Liu. (Left to right: Tony Rausch, James Liu, Gary Bossert Jr., Al Bossert, Elise Bossert, and Kara Bossert).
The plans for SIGFest 2025 are already underway—and there’s no end in sight for this celebration of one of the most iconic cars in BMW’s long history. “This is a car that has a soul,” says SIG and Club Racing veteran Ron Checca. “It gives incredible feedback to the driver in every way—brakes, steering, suspension, handling. It’s the real deal. It has everything that BMW is about, and it’s still a blast to drive today. It still puts a grin on your face.”
Chet Marfatia’s E30 M3 Sport Evolution won the Bossert Memorial Award.
[Photos by David Haueter]