The Saturn Sky is, looking from the outside in, a Miata competitor that General Motors lost money on before going bankrupt. But before I say exactly how, let me introduce you to the Saturn Sky, a car which I'm certain a lot of BMW enthusiasts are unaware of. Look past those things, however, and the M3 starts to fall apart a bit. The M3's is the sportiest version of this chassis, and it's certainly the best of the lot. Any slide can easily be corrected or held to your heart's desire. The E46 chassis is also extremely predictable and throwable. The fact of the matter is you can enjoy the car better with the top down, and whatever added weight takes away from the car's performance, it makes up for it with the amount of wonderful straight-six noise you get. I also like the fact that the car is a convertible, although debating this with your average coupe evangelist is like discussing the merits of doing a barrel roll with air traffic controllers. With the top down and a roadside barrier reflecting all of that wonderful noise, it's literally a hair-raising experience to take it to its redline over and over again. You just can't beat that screaming titanium soundtrack as the car rips all the way to 8,000 rpm. The beating heart of the car, the 3.2-liter S54 is a great engine-one of the all-time greats in an affordable street car. I've put over 60,000 miles on mine in around four years, and I've experienced the highs and the lows. As an option, there was a 6-speed automated gearbox named SMGII, with a single-clutch system.The E46 M3 has a great reputation for a reason-it's an excellent car. Under the hood, the M3 Cabriolet was fitted with the same 3.2-liter S54 engine mated to a standard 6-speed manual. The dashboard and the center console were the same as for the coupe version. The soft-top was completely retractable behind the rear bench. In the back, there was not too much room for long trips. The front bucket seats were fitted as standard. Inside, the M3 Convertible offered room for four occupants. From there on there was no other visible reinforcement on top of the body. The car featured a thicker A-pillar to reinforce the bodywork. On the sides, a pair of vents on the front fenders resembled, in a modern way, those found on the glorious BMW 507. Two scoops on the hood allowed a part of the hot air to escape from the engine bay. The big bumper with a lower apron and wide grille was needed to hide the big radiator and various coolers. The aggressive look of the car was due to its rounded parking lights, named “Angel Eyes” even though they looked from the opposing team. While the E30 M3 was built in a little over 17.000 units, the E46 M3 convertible alone was sold in almost 30.000 units. The 2001 M3 (E46) was the third generation. Its commercial success was so big that the car-maker decided to build offer M3 versions for the following 3-Series vehicles. The first generation of the BMW M3 was a race-purpose car built for streets to receive the FIA approval for racing. The third generation of the M3 was built in a choice of two body styles: coupe and convertible.Įven though the convertible was heavier, its performances were no joke.
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