70 Exotics, An M3 GTS And The Best Of Automotive Culture

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. It was 7:30 as the alarm rang on a Sunday morning, far too early when in desperate need of a weekend sleep in. But as the the tone of the alarm gradually morphed into the imaginary sound of revving engines in my weary head, the early morning was sure to be worth it with a day full of rare and exclusive exotics planned with Melbourne’s Otium Club.

The plan was simple. Meet with dozens and dozens of sports car owners in Victoria’s Yarra Valley before making the most of the sun and enjoying some of Australia’s finest driving roads. As days go, it was always bound to be a good one.

With winds strong enough to knock you off your feet, droves of high-performance cars from the finest, stripped-out, hardcore race cars for the road to blisteringly-quick daily drivers, flocked to the expansive carpark at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie. Among the near 70 cars attending the drive day, there were some familiar faces as well as some newcomers creating an atmosphere and a collection of cars to rival that of the world’s best dealerships, museums and motoring shows.

The faces of onlookers was priceless. From a squad of four stunning and brightly colored McLarens to the numerous Lamborghinis, Audi R8s and Ferraris, just one of these cars can be enough to stop traffic, let alone a seemingly never ending collective of them.

For the drive, we hopped into a particularly stunning BMW M3. This wasn’t an ordinary M3 however, it was one of just three M3 GTS’s imported into Australia and one of only 135 sold worldwide. In the company of Lamborghini Gallardos and Ferrari 458s which were produced in their thousands, it really is a motoring unicorn.

Beneath the bonnet lies a familiar V8 from BMW but unlike the standard E92 M3, the engine of the GTS has been expanded from 4.0-liters to 4.4-liters. This helps it churn out 444 hp (19 hp more than the current M4), rocketing the stripped-out coupe to 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds and easily eclipsing a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

Before long, the flock of cars started rolling out of the carpark, bound for Marysville via the Black Spur, one of the country’s best known roads. Although the road is heavily police and often clogged-up with slow-moving tourists, the smooth tarmac and beautiful forest setting always make it a thrill to drive, particularly in a car like the M3 GTS.

While not as accelerative as an M4, let alone the new M4 GTS, the Fire Orange beast remains one of the rawest production cars built by BMW’s M division, largely stunning suspension setup and unadulterated engine. To receive compliance for Australian roads, the car has been outfitted with a set of bespoke coilovers, which somehow silently smooth out any imperfections in the road all while keeping the car completely flat through the corners and stable under heavy braking.

Then there’s the engine. In a world where automakers are continually slapping their performance models with turbochargers, the burbling all-motor V8 of the GTS is the perfect example of what will be remembered as a rather special time in the performance car industry, just before strict emissions standards effectively killed off such powertrains. No matter how much carmakers try to pipe the sounds of turbo’d engines into the cabin through the speakers or special ducts, there’s simply no replicating or matching the sound of a naturally-aspirated V8.

Before long, we arrived in Marysville for a spot of lunch at the beautiful Radius Bar & Grill. Replenished and raring to go, our convoy left town and headed up the spectacular road to the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort.

Given that the road goes up to a ski resort and that there wasn’t even a touch of snow in sight, it was perfectly quiet. Until we arrived. With thousands of horsepower roaring, howling and singing up the mountain, the road acted as the perfect place to unleash the shackles of the cars and to enjoy them as they were designed to be driven.

After an impromptu photoshoot overlooking the surrounding hills, we headed back down Lake Mountain, through Marysville once again and along the Black Spur one final time. We then briefly gathered at the Yering Station Winery before splitting up and going our separate ways home.

Any day you see a fleet of exotics on the road is a good day. Days where you experience not only that, but also the very best the motoring community has to offer, those days are truly memorable. This was one of them.

Hat tip to Decadence Australia for the stunning images, give them some love on Facebook and Instagram!