Keep Your Overpriced E30 M3, This Modified S54-Powered BMW 3-Series Looks Way More Fun

BMW’s original E30 M3 was a serial race winner in its day and three decades later you wont find anyone disputing its status as blue-chip collector’s car.

The way I see it, though, the values are way out of kilter with their rarity and how much fun you can have behind the wheel. Hagerty now says a concours condition Sport Evo is worth a staggering $345,000 (£248,000) and a condition 2, excellent car, $224,000 (£161,000), but BMW did build only 600 and each had the bigger 2.5-liter S14 engine.

However, the regular non-Evo M3s aren’t exactly thin on the ground, and they’re not very fast over it, either. BMW churned out over 16,000 of the things and if you pick an early catalyzed car, it makes barely 190 hp and takes 7 seconds to hit 60 mph.

Yes, I know the E30 M3 has never been about outright power, and I do think they’re fun to drive. But I’d want more power and more fun for the $80,000-100,000 some of these cars are changing hands for. And the same goes for various other overpriced 1980s performance icons, including the Porsche 911.

Related: So You Wish BMW Would Go Back To Its Old Grilles, But Which Ones?

I know I’d have a bigger laugh in something like this S54-powered E30 for a fraction of the price. Currently up for grabs on Bring-A-Trailer, this E30 started life as a 1989 325is but at some point between now and the vendor acquiring it in 2007 the original M20 2.5-liter six was junked in favor of an S54 3.2 from a 2002 E46 M3.

That swap instantly doubled the E30s power output from its original 168 hp to 333 hp, and runs through a five-speed manual transmission to a LSD-equipped rear end. And for peace of mind, the S54’s rod bearings were renewed before it was dropped between the E30’s shock towers, while the suspension and brakes were also refreshed and uprated.

The look won’t be to everyone’s taste, and I’d be tempted to replace the 18-inch M Parallel rims for something else, but there’s clearly been a lot of blood sweat and coffee spilled to get it to where it is today.

It’s never going to be worth M3 money, but maybe that’s a blessing because you’ll be able to beat on it and not feel guilty when you wrap it around a telephone pole.