The E30 BMW M3 Sport Evolution of Matthias Unger

For Matthias Unger, the season when the leaves of the forests change from a rich yellow to a bright red has a very special charm. He utilises the last rays of the sun by grabbing his amazingly simple M logo-bearing ignition key and heads to his garage. Awaiting him here is a very special automobile. Matthias Unger's BMW M3 Sport Evolution from 1990 is to this day an irreplaceable piece of motorsport history with road approval. We accompanied him on a drive and were able to experience what it means to take to the road with an almost three-decades-old sports car.

Mit dem BMW 323i meines Vaters aus dem Jahre 1984 fing die Begeisterung an. 1988 die Leidenschaft – da wurde ich 18 und durfte selbst ans Steuer.

The enthusiasm began with my father’s BMW 323i from 1984. In 1988 I turned 18 and was passionate about being allowed to drive it myself.

ON THE ROAD.

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THE MODEL SERIES OF HIS LIFE.

The entrepreneur, racing driver and racing team owner – current championship title holder and runner-up in the VLN Endurance Championship with Adrenalin Motorsport – is an avowed M enthusiast. For a long time, too. Matthias Unger is a classic case of an ‘early adopter’: as far back as 1984 he recognised the special feature in his father’s mid-range BMW 323i that was to shape the BMW brand and BMW M in years to come. This was the striking so-called ‘sharknose’ design, its athletic proportions, low-weight and rear-wheel drive. That the E30 – and especially the M3 Sport Evolution – means more to Unger than any old beloved collector vehicle becomes clearer with every sentence he speaks.

In the mid-1990s, I sat behind the wheel of the M3 Sport Evolution for the first time. I immediately realised that it was the icing on the cake for the entire E30 series.

GLOSS BLACK RARITY.

Even in the stale morning light that penetrates through the Plexiglas windows of the roller shutter, it becomes clear that everything in this room revolves around BMW and motorsport. Stacks of tyres here, spare parts there – a white race track-ready E30 resting on a lift platform. Immediately you think you’re in a pit lane rather than in Unger’s garage. We go a bit further inside and already recognise this car by its iconic design, which for many collectors and car fans, represents something of a ‘Holy Grail’ in the history of BMW M. Varnished in Gloss Black paint, with contrasting red stripes and 16-inch spoke rims; with the BMW M3 Sport Evolution, Unger is well-aware of the kind of treasure he protects here. The top model of the series was not simply the ‘final stage’ of the first BMW M3 when it launched on the market almost 30 years ago. Offering more displacement, an even tighter chassis and many lightweight components, the Sport Evolution advanced into areas of driving dynamics that were practically unheard of in this class at the beginning of the 1990s.

INNOVATIONS FROM MOTORSPORT.

First off, the numbers: with a displacement of 2.5 litres, this free-aspirating four-cylinder S14 engine produces a remarkable 238 hp – which is still enough to deliver an acceleration value of around 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h to this day. This is all made possible thanks to its low vehicle weight of around 1,200 kilograms, aided by the special glass used in its rear and side windows. At the front axle, the Sport Evolution is ten millimetres lower than the normal BMW M3, and the brake system is akin to the production model.

The ingenious aerodynamics of the body also deserve a special mention. On the one hand, the front and rear spoilers, which can be adjusted in three stages, provide more contact pressure and higher cornering speeds. The V-shaped profiles underneath the vehicle, which were new at the time and which, due to the so-called Venturi effect, almost ‘sucked’ the vehicle onto the road, were also reserved for the Sport Evolution. These innovations are not surprising, as the vehicle was derived directly from the DTM racing car of the time. It was, of course, the most successful model ever used in the racing series.

Learn more about the E30 BMW M3

With its revving, the engine is absolutely insane. Starting at 5,500 revolutions, it literally ignites fireworks!

FASCINATINGLY AUTHENTIC.

Of course, the true spirit of the Sport Evolution is not revealed simply by looking at the data sheet, but from the driver’s seat. Once you’ve taken a ride in the Sport Evolution, you won’t let go of the fascinating driving experience for a long time. Matthias Unger is sure of this and enjoys taking his place behind the wheel in the leather racing seats with the sewn-in M stripes. After a metallic click of the red seatbelts, he brings the engine to life with a quick turn of the key. Even when idle, the large-volume four-cylinder engine demonstrates its distinctive sound, literally craving the first blast of gas. Speed is the Sport Evolution’s trump card: the longitudinally-mounted engine only develops its full performance potential from 7,000 revolutions and continues to churn to a maximum of 7,500 revolutions.

What do I like about cars like the M3 Sport Evolution? Driving to the race track full of anticipation, really accelerating there and then going home afterwards, relaxed.

SHIFT, CONTROL, RELAX.

This is by no means a disadvantage; Unger regards the Sport Evolution as what it is: a street-legal racing car that can be pushed to the limit with vim and verve. While the relationship between work and relaxation is usually a contradictory one in today’s world, it goes hand-in-hand at the wheel of the M3 Sport Evolution. This is meant literally when it comes to Matthias Unger, as he shifts the manual transmission’s five gears with pleasure time and again, exploiting its full range of speed and leaving curve after curve behind him. The M3 Sport Evolution now gives everything it’s got. The suspension travel is short and the steering is a bit more jagged than on the already-agile M3 series. Then, as we fly over the autumn country roads, the realisation sets in: the almost 30-year-old M3 is a revelation in terms of driving dynamics. The phrase displayed on the small suede-covered badge behind the gear stick sums it up quite well: Sport Evolution 1990.