BMW M3 Saloon - A real Q car.

WHITE_P

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/218721/bmw_m3.html

Anan1

Q car? From the article: 'As well as the storming V8, the M3 has a huge bonnet power bulge, side skirts, flared wheel-arches, 18-inch alloys and a chromed quad exhaust.' Have a look at an E28 M5 and you'll see how much class BMW have lost over the past 20 years.

WHITE_P

Anan1 wrote: »

Q car? From the article: 'As well as the storming V8, the M3 has a huge bonnet power bulge, side skirts, flared wheel-arches, 18-inch alloys and a chromed quad exhaust.' Have a look at an E28 M5 and you'll see how much class BMW have lost over the past 20 years.

Yeah but compare it to something like a Lancer Evo, I think in dark colour that will be a fairly discrete car.

No doubt that the older BMW's were definetly nicer cars than the current one's, with some exceptions.

E92

M cars have gotten a bit too shouty about what they are. As Anan1 said, the older M cars were genuine wolves in sheeps clothing, which is the way they should be.

cashmni1

agreed, M cars now days look and sound like high end performance cars, which they are! But, Q cars, I think not.
People who normally don't take any notice of cars will stop and look at an M3. Its a given.
Q cars are rare and very cool.
Subaru have a forester with the Impreza 2 ltr Turbo engine. Mazda have the MP3 (I think with a 2.5 ltr).
I'm sure there are others but I can't think of them right now. But these are the sort of cars that would frighten you with power and speed but don't look any different to the normal variant, with the exception of some discrete mods.

Anan1

Another few were the W124 Mercedes 500E, the Audi 80 RS2 Avant, and the Mk2 VW Golf Limited. Back in the days when the Germans built German cars.;)

Rovi

cashmni1 wrote: »

I'm sure there are others but I can't think of them right now. But these are the sort of cars that would frighten you with power and speed but don't look any different to the normal variant, with the exception of some discrete mods.

As far as the vast majority of other motorists are concerned, I'm driving an ordinary Audi A6.

And that's the way I like it.

maidhc

MB 450SEL 6.9 is a proper Q car!

HashSlinging

The 00 - 01 Seat Leon cupra was a proper Q car at the time. The 1st hatchback with the 180bhp 1.8T engine, some didnt even come with a chrome exhaust, the only tell tail it was a cupra were the horrible alloys.

whippet

how about the MB 190E Cossie, the father in law has one and most people think it is just an old merc, that looks suprisingly in good nick

HashSlinging

The cossie does shout a bit with the wide arches etc, a proper Q car should be a wolf in sheeps clothing, every thing on the outside should be standard entry level.

bazz26

I always thought of the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton as a Q car:

Henry Ford III

I'd love one of the old 2.3 4 pot M3's.

TomMc

Subaru Legacy Spec B is a Q-car. AMG Mercs use to be but are now going down the same road as BMW with "M" this that and everything.

The Volvo S80 T6 of old - that was a Q-car or say something like the older Italian/Swiss model of the BMW 320iS.

cantdecide

Anan1 wrote: »

...Audi 80 RS2 Avant...

There's one of these in powder blue floating around Cork in regular use. Absolutely stunning. In estate form, any car can be as shouty as Kerry Katona and get away with it.

I agree with the above that in dark blues and blacks, M3 will look stunning. I've come to hate that E46 M3 gold crappy colour.

Seth Brundle

Press Release: The new BMW M3 Saloon

Max_Damage

VW Passat 4.0L W8. Now that's a Q car, especially if you stick a few steel wheels and TDI badges on it!

kayos

HashSlinging wrote: »

The 00 - 01 Seat Leon cupra was a proper Q car at the time. The 1st hatchback with the 180bhp 1.8T engine, some didnt even come with a chrome exhaust, the only tell tail it was a cupra were the horrible alloys.

Ya what now? That 20VT plant was in hatchbacks long before the leon. A/S3, Golf, Ibiza are just some examples. Also I think the Leon Cupra had body differences over the standard Leon just not as many as the CurpaR.



Thats a Ibiza Curpa, for the most part it is a street sleeper. Looks like an Ibiza but 210bhp and enough torque,256, to put a lot of cars to shame.

HashSlinging

Your wrong Kaos the seat cupra had a standard body your thinking of the sport up version, which was available in '02 and also the 1.8T 180 was first seen in the audi TT and then the Leon, the S3 was 225 bhp.

It was never an application for the Ibiza only the 150 bhp version appeared in the Ibiza model.

kayos

HashSlinging wrote: »

Your wrong Kaos the seat cupra had a standard body your thinking of the sport up version, which was available in '02 and also the 1.8T 180 was first seen in the audi TT and then the Leon, the S3 was 225 bhp.

It was never an application for the Ibiza only the 150 bhp version appeared in the Ibiza model.

S3 came in 210BHP first then the 225BHP.
Ibiza Curpa was 156BHP and Ibiza CupraR was 180BHP.
The same 1.8 20VT plant powers them all. Just different tuning and some different part esp if your talking about the S3's.

As for the body work on a Leon cupra I was pretty sure the curpa had differences, in the center of the front bumper towards the splitter there was a vertical oval and I dont mean the little slot under the seat badge on the cupraR. There was a standard body work 1.8T as well but that was never labelled a cupra as far I remember.

shanel23

bazz26 wrote: »

I always thought of the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton as a Q car:

+1 In white though

chewb

kayos wrote: »

Thats a Ibiza Curpa, for the most part it is a street sleeper. Looks like an Ibiza but 210bhp and enough torque,256, to put a lot of cars to shame.

Was there a 210bhp Ibiza? Wow.

HashSlinging

The Ibiza cupra R with 180bhp came out in '01 though, I think the 1.8T Leon w/standard body was known as a cupra in the UK. Here our version was a 20VT, so i stand corrected on that.. anyway you've a savage ibiza there is it yours.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/SEAT/Leon/1.8-Cupra/950986/

whippet

the S40 T5 is a Q car, the only identifying mark apart from the T5 is the twin tail pipes.

I had a lend of one for a few weeks and it was quick!! nearly bought it at one stage but not my cup of tea .. in fact you'd struggle to fit a cup of tea in the boot!

kayos

chewb wrote: »

Was there a 210bhp Ibiza? Wow.

Yup if you chipped them :P. The ibiza cupra came 156bhp standard and could be easily tuned up to 210bhp without having to replace that many parts. The CupraR came with 180BHP and would tune up to about the same. All depended on what tuners you picked. I have the oettinger conversion done by RSD in the UK.

There was one little yellow Ibiza in the UK with a hell of a lot more than 210BHP, but then again I think the body was about the only thing the guy, owner of badger5, didnt touch on the car.

HashSlinging

Jabba do a 350bhp IHI turbo Conversion - yikes

Max_Damage

shanel23 wrote: »

+1 In white though

They only came in dark green (which looked like black from a distance).

The GSi 3000 however could be got in any colour.

JHMEG

kayos wrote: »

Yup if you chipped them :P.

Ok, thought so. Reckoned I would have heard about a 210bhp before now if there was such thing from the factory.

Cyrus

seat leon 1.8t is a wolf in a sheeps clothing

maybe a real small wolf pup in a lambs clothing!!

New m3 is more overstated than the e46, which was more overstated than the e36 but obviously thats what people want, if you are spendind 120/130 it needs to look different to a 50k 320 imo.