HISTORY: In 1978, BMW set out to build a car to beat Porsche's entry -- a hot rodded 911 -- in the World Championship of Makes, a now defunct sports car racing series. In order for a car to be considered a legal entry in the race, BMW had to build a small number of street versions of the car -- around 50. Under normal circumstances the street version would have been developed first and the race car then modified for entry in the series. In this case, BMW's engineers went the opposite direction -- race car to street car -- so that they could concentrate on optimizing all the racing features.

Later, BMW toned down the car for street use. The resulting street car was the BMW M1 mid-engine sports car. This was the first car developed by the company's motorsports division, thus the name M for motorsports and 1 for the first in the series.

BMW's current model line is divided into sections: 3 series, 5 series, 7 series and 8 series. Current M model designations are versions of the aforementioned series that have been modified by the motorsports division (M GMBH) with the exception of the 8 series cars. The 3, 5 and the former 6 series cars have all had M treatments. Currently the only M-treated cars available in dealerships are the M3 coupes and sedans and the 850 CI. A new M5 is in the works.

In 1988, the second M model appeared, the M3. It was developed from the 3 series street line. The original street M3 had a high performance 2.3 liter 4 cylinder 192 horsepower engine (similar to the Formula 2 powerplant run in that racing series at that time), flared wheel wells to accommodate wider tires and a rather large rear spoiler. The 1988 version had an extremely aggressive look. The M3 we tested represents the second generation of the vehicle and the first sedan treatment of the 3 series by the Motorsports division. The current M3 sedan is competing successfully in a variety of European Touring Car Championships and PSR GTS-3 (formerly International Motorsports Association - IMSA).

The M GMBH group no longer just develops race cars. It has five divisions including: BMW Motorsports International (racing), BMW M Fahrzeuge, BMW Individual, BMW Fahrer-Training and BMW Systemtechnik. BMW M Fahrzeuge is responsible for the M series street vehicles. BMW Individual prepares versions of BMW cars with custom paints, interior materials and features that make a standard BMW exclusively "your" BMW (e.g. you want the car the color of your husband's eyes). BMW Fahrer-Training is their car control educational program designed to enhance car owner's driving skills emphasizing safety and performance -- the idea here being to bring the driver's skill level on par with the capabilities of the car. BMW Systemtechnik is the group that partners with other companies on the development of automotive technologies. A well-known example of this is the engine development program with Mclaren for the F1 Supercar.