BMW M3 · The E30 Generation

The dossiers

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  M3 Base Car — 17,970 built of all types, 786 of them convertibles; the accessible entry to the range, and what the documentation set must include

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  Evolution I — 505 cars; a revised, "E"-stamped head and no visible differences, which makes it the easiest Evo to misrepresent

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  Evolution II — 500 cars; 220 PS from new cams and pistons, revised spoilers and brake-cooling inlets; why the ceiling is constrained by Sport Evo money

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  Sport Evolution — 600 cars in red or black; 2.5-litre S14B25, 238 PS, adjustable splitter and wing; the definitive E30 M3

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  Johnny Cecotto Edition — 480 cars plus 80 for Switzerland; 215 PS, driver association; why the edition plaque is the premium and what happens when it is missing

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  Roberto Ravaglia Edition — 25 cars for the UK, left-hand drive like every E30 M3; named for the 1987 world touring car champion; the scarcity argument

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  E36 M3: the bridge — ~71,000 built; inline-six replaces S14; why the E36's abundance makes the E30 M3's window definitive

The era

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  BMW Motorsport GmbH and the Group A brief: the division that produced the M3, the regulations that required it, and why the result exceeded the obligation by a factor of nearly four

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  The S14 engine: an M10 block with a head derived from the M1's M88 six, the four-cylinder racing logic, and the 2.5-litre Sport Evolution

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  WTCC, ETCC and DTM: the 1987 world title, the European and German championships, the competition evolution that drove each Evo update, and the halo effect on road-car values

Buying & ownership

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  Documentation fraud — the conversion of base M3s to Evo specification: what it looks like, how BMW's factory records expose it, and the verification steps that cannot be skipped

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  Inspection priorities: the S14's timing chain and throttle bodies, subframe mounting points, rust, and gearbox synchromesh

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  The documentation minimum: the factory build record, registration history, service history, and edition plaques — what each document proves

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  Pre-purchase inspection protocol: the chassis-number verification process and the negotiation deductions for each category of deficiency