. . . BMW's e36/8 M Coupe. S54-powered only.
Talk about a car nobody gets. Allegedly first cobbled-together as an after-school engineering exercise (ala MBz 6.3), this thing is universally panned for its uhhh . . . off-beat looks. Originally built with the 240 HP S52 in the US (or the more spirited 321 HP S50B20 in Europe), the ultimate S54 315-325 HP version is/was the quickest BMW ever sold --- zero-to-60 MPH = 4.3 sec. Redlines at 7600, curiously 400 RPM less than the identically-powered contemporary M3.
OK, besides looking like one of Shaq's high-tops ---- and about as big --- this little missile is famous for tearing out its rear floor . . . due to its carry-over e30 rear suspension structure failing to cope with double the power it was ever designed for. After-school, huh? Prolly detention.
Any M Coupe is a relatively rare car, just over 6300 built over 5 years. But only 1139 S54s were produced, 690 for the US.
I vividly recall my first test-drive in an M Coupe . . . one that started-out with me and a Sales Guy calmly sauntering down a quiet side-street, but then rapidly degenerated into a stupid adolescent speed-fest, with me at one point rocketing past the Newport Beach Golf Course, dissuading a distinguished-looking Republican foursome from crossing Irvine Blvd --- by hurtling sideways through the cross-walk. I think I must've been in 3rd, around, mmmm 6000?, when I saw them, lifted, felt the car give a twitch (juuuuust a bit) then caught it, just as we went cannon-balling by. And things went downhill from there. Sales Guy said he had no idea the car could do stuff like that. (Me, neither.) After hammer-turning back into the Dealership, I quietly dropped-off the car, then took off before the cops got there. Then changed my pants. And my address.
And that was the insipid little 240-horser.
An S54 car? OK, lemme see. Take out one sniveling 200 lb Sales Guy and add 80 HP? Holy $h!t. Be like trying to slice bread with a tomahawk. Not exactly the auto-crossers choice, but, at 3100 lbs, let's just call it comfortably over-powered, shall we? ('Course, you can always super-charge it. While you're on parole.) So, when bull-riding and cage-fighting get too tame for ya . . .
Typically expensive, usually conservatively-colored, surprisingly small outside, very close inside. Feels like a fighter-plane. Try to find one without the sunroof (saves headroom and weight), in green or white. Or that awful Phoenix Yellow.