The 25th SIGFest Celebrated the E30 M3's 40th Birthday with Style

SIGFest, the annual E30 M3 gathering in New Jersey, has become one of the largest gatherings of the model anywhere in the world. This year, E30 M3 owners and enthusiasts gathered on September 12th at the Shore Car Club in Ocean Township for a great day of camaraderie.

It’s amazing that SIGFest, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, has gone as long as it has. The first gathering—organized by Tony Rausch in 1999—was simply a small group of E30 M3 owners coming together after getting to know each other on the E30 M3 Special Interest Group (SIG) online forum. “Tony started the first one and it was just like ‘hey, do you guys want to get together for a bite to eat?,’” says John Henriquez, who along with Rausch and James Liu is one of the three organizers of the event that have kept it going. “I think six cars came to that first one and gradually more and more people wanted to come. Now 25 years later, I would never have imagined it would still be going on. I remember first bringing my son to SIGFest when he was five, and how he’s an adult with his own kid. You come for the cars but you keep coming for the people.”

There were 55 E30 M3’s at the 2026 edition, with some coming from as far away as Georgia, the Carolinas, and New Hampshire. Some cars are trailered to the event, but most are driven. While the car show on Saturday is the highlight, there’s always a get-together dinner on the Friday before as well, which this year was held at Harpoon Willy’s in Manasquan. The Shore Car Club, which was the site of the Saturday car show, is a fantastic facility where members can get together for social events and store their cars. It was a great venue for SIGFest.

Seeing over 50 E30 M3’s together in one place is always a great occasion and the enthusiasm for the first M3 hasn’t died down. That said, parts are getting harder to find and values continue to increase, which may keep some owners from driving their E30s as much as they’d like. “The E30 M3 is beautiful to look at,” says John Dunnock, who has owned his E30 M3 for almost 25 years. “I always turn around and look at it again when I leave it in the garage, and it’s just sublime to drive. It’s a great chassis. It’s certainly not the fastest car out there, but for me it just fits me perfectly.”

Ron Checca has owned and raced many different BMWs over the years, including the E30 M3, and echoed the same sentiments. “The E30 M3 is definitely one of the most iconic BMWs every built, and it’s a car that first caught my attention back in 1989,” he says. “It’s been with me ever since. I’ve had a lot of other BMWs, but I keep my E30s and I keep coming back to them.

Jose Rodriguez won Best Modified for his DTM homage.

For some, owning an E30 M3 had been a dream for decades. “This is a car that I lusted after as a kid,” says Anthony Fischetti, who has owned his M3 since 2013. “Then one day I’m going through eBay and saw this car in Vegas. I called the owner up and said I wanted his car and we made a deal over the phone. He said you can fly here and drive it back (to NJ), that’s how much faith he had in it. It’s odd and unique. It’s boxy but still racy looking and purpose built for racing, and it was the first M3 ever.”

James Liu (left) and John Henriquez (right) talk with show judge Dr. Charles Lennon.

Walking down the rows of E30 M3’s at SIGFest, it’s interesting to see how owners personalize their cars, with everything from a simple wheel or interior change to full-on engine transplants. Installing the S54 engine from the E46 M3 is a popular upgrade. There are still some cars around that are very original, though those are getting harder to find. The depth and breadth of the cars was evident in the awards given at SIGFest. Brian Green won “Best of Show” for his E30 M3 with an S54 transplant, while Sean Troy was given the “Road Warrior” award for his well-used M3 that now has 339,000 miles. “Best Original” went to Adam Roy, “SIGMeister’s Choice” went to Ruben Frias for his Hartge homage, and Jose Rodriquez won “Best Modified” for his DTM homage.

Tony Rausch, James Liu, and John Henriquez are all determined to keep SIGFest going for as long as they can. There have been no signs that owners are ready for it to end, which shows the passion for these cars, 40 years after they were first introduced. “I didn’t think this event would last more than a couple of years when we started it,” says Rausch. “We would not be doing it if people hadn’t responded to it the way they have. We’re proud to have made it this far. People will drive 10 hours to this event and then come again the next year.”

About the E30 M3

The M3 legend started 40 years ago with the E30. Unlike every M3 that’s come since, it was powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.3-liter four-cylinder that produced 200 hp, and the car was made to homologate the E30 M3 for European touring car racing. It was produced from 1986 through 1991, with the zenith of the line being the M3 Sport Evolution that produced 238hp with a larger 2.5-liter engine and was limited to 600 examples. The E30 M3 really became famous because of its racing exploits. In race trim, the car is one of the single most successful race cars in history, winning in DTM, the European Touring Car Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, and even the World Touring Car Championship in 1987. It also won the Nürburgring and Spa 24-hour races and was even successful in rallying.