There is just something so special about the BMW e30. You can’t really pin it on one key factor. Rather, it comes down to various dimensions to the car that all congregate to make a machine that is as loved today as it was when it debuted. The e30 was offered with a range of 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines, with manual or automatic transmissions to support these. Even today, they have enough grunt to keep up with modern traffic, although as you’d expect they do fall behind modern sports cars. The high revving engines and direct go-kart like steering have seduced enthusiasts throughout the years, and the e30 scene in Australia and around the world is substantial in size.
Some people prefer the e30 in its purest form, and maintain their distance from the large variety of aesthetic and performance enhancements available. I guess this has a whiff of the whole “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. Finding a car nowadays which looks like it did when it came out of the dealership is difficult, but must be appreciated when stumbled upon. The iconic kidney grill, and subtly curved frame demands respect without shoving it in people’s faces. The car gives off the essence of content, with knowledge that under the beautiful frame is a machine that handles and drives spiritedly, equipped with an engine delivering perfect amounts of power and steering to match.
On the other hand, there is a current trend to add various modifications to the iconic e30. Compared to the subtle look of the stock models, these modded e30s present themselves in a more extroverted fashion, often with flared body kits, aftermarket rims, tinted angel-eye headlights, blacked out grills, engine swaps, and performance exhausts. All of these mods, in different combinations, serve to enhance the e30 from what it was, to what is can be. They aid in lifting the e30 out of the past and into the present day, with components that look like they’ve been taken off modern cars we see today. The angel-eye headlights are a tribute to modern BMWs, and alone help to give the car a more modern look. Various body kits help identify the car as a driving purists dream, done so by giving the car a more stanced, sporty look. Aftermarket rims serve as a nice touch to other modifications, and really can make or break a vehicle’s aesthetics. The performance exhausts available are like a good pair of headphones as they extract the best range of sounds from the engine. All of these elements used in numerous combinations produce vehicles with a refreshed sense of life and an extravagant sense of style.
Although some of us may not appreciate the e30, we can all acknowledge that the fantastic M3 models that we have seen in the past few decades have stemmed from the e30. The original M3 found its way onto bedroom wall posters all around the world, and made its mark both in racing and in domestic use. It set the path, and acted as a benchmark for BMW to continue on to produce ‘ultimate driving machines’. The first of the videos below talks about the car in greater detail.
There are a lot of e30 videos on the web and I recommend you have a look at some of the awesome cars out there, but here are some of my favorites that I plucked out.
Looking to give your car the performance edge? Here are Active Motowerke Australia we offer a wide variety of aesthetic and performance modifications and services. Give us a ring or send us an email for more information!
Pictures sourced from
http://hdw.eweb4.com/out/700698.html
