We don’t usually bother regurgitating YouTube car reviews here. There isn’t much point in summarizing a video with text, and we trust that many of you have already watched the good stuff before we can spit out an article. This week is a bit of an exception, however, because we’ve felt the need to highlight a video summary of the E92 M3 that really seems to nail it in terms of sentiment. No matter how you feel about his videos, Doug DeMuro understands both the manufacturer and customer side of cars, and has a strong track record when it comes to BMW in particular.
Back in 2017, he correctly called the value-appreciation of models like the E39 M5 and E46 M3, and in the years since, he’s been right on the money when it comes to reviewing plenty of other models as well. He’s referred to the 1M as the best BMW of all time, and knew that the M2 was the best current M car when it arrived back in 2016. The E60 M5 is an incredible performance sedan capable of staggering numbers, but DeMuro is correct in saying most of us should probably avoid owning one. When it hit dealer lots earlier this year, he knew the X7 was the best in its segment, and today they’re selling to the tune of 3,000 units a month in the U.S., proving that there is demand for the biggest BMW model ever.
When it comes to the E9X generation of the M3, many of us knew it was the end of the era when news of its turbocharged replacement broke. With a quad-cam V8 that revs to 8,400 rpm, a unit derived from the S85 V10 of the E60 M5 (which shares a link to Formula 1), the E92 M3 represents a time when automakers were putting some of the their best efforts forward, at what will likely go down as the pinnacle of naturally-aspirated engineering. Although automotive performance capability has long since moved past they era of the V8 M3, there is something undeniably special about them, and they may just be the next modern classic BMW.—Alex Tock
[Photo and video courtesy BMW AG, Doug DeMuro on YouTube.]
