RE: E30 BMW M3 v. URQ

[Eaton Dave <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

you need to be comparing apples to apples.

the e30 m3, circa 1989 would need to be compared to the ur-quattro of the
came vintage. the later ur-q's were significant upgrades over the earlier
cars.  certainly imo you don't get the handling finesse of the m3 with the
earlier ur-quattros.  the series 1 m3, the m-b 190 cosworth and the
ur-quattro were "birds of a feather" albeit very different to drive in my
experience.  i have not driven an evo 2 e30 m3, or the "big wing" evo 2 190
cosworth.

in all honesty, the e30 m3 (either evo 1 or 2) was a wonderful machine, much
more involving to drive than the e36 model (which was not available in the
usa).  i would own one in an instant except for the fact that:

1) no rhd version was made so that those that are available (and the one i
have driven) are conversions, and 
2) i already have a 20v ur-quattro. ;-)

enough said?

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

		-----Original Message-----
		Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 19:21:00 -0800 (PST)
		From: Roger DeCoster
		Subject: RE: E30 BMW M3 v. URQ

		I have a friend who is considering the purchase of a 1989
BMW M3.  We
		have an ongoing debate as to the merits/drawbacks of the
		first-generation M3 as it compares to the ur-q, and have
never seen
		any data comparing the two.  It seems a natural comparison,
as both
		are purpose-built, flared-fendered, high-performance coupes.
I
		contend that with a modest chip/spring upgrade that the ur-q
will put
		out the same h.p. (about 195) as the M3, with the added
benefit of the
		quattro driveline.  He contends that acceleration,
roadholding, and
		braking all go to the BMW, hands down.  I counter that if
you really
		want to compare the two, you'd have to *make* a BMW M3ix,
and even
		that would have an inferior driveline to Audi.  The truth is
that
		neither of us knows what the hell we're talking about,
really.  So I
		put it to you, those who have perhaps seen them go side by
side or
		perhaps own or have driven an M3 at Bondurant or some such
place, to
		give me some more bile to throw at this fine friend, and
maybe a few
		facts, too.