From V10s to Voltage: The Best BMW M Cars

BMW M cars. Since 1978, they’ve arrived in just about every shape you can imagine: mid-engined supercars, coupes, saloons, estates and, eventually, SUVs; powered by everything from fizzing four-cylinders to some of the most memorable V10s ever fitted to a road car. For decades, petrol engines weren’t just part of the M formula — they were the formula.

That era, though, is now clearly drawing to a close. With the electric iM3 confirmed for 2027, the current generation of combustion-powered M cars sits on the brink of becoming a closed chapter. BMW has already started easing us toward that future with cars like the hybrid M5 and its Touring sibling, but the direction of travel is now unmistakable. What comes next won’t smell of fuel or rise and fall to a redline.

Looking back with that in mind changes the exercise slightly. There’s never really been a bad M car (setting aside the XM, which feels like a separate conversation BMW would probably prefer to forget), but some now carry extra weight as end-of-era machines. As the petrol M story heads toward its final pages, separating the merely good from the genuinely great feels more relevant than ever.

So yes, we’ve done what every car site eventually does and compiled a highly scientific top-10 list, fuelled by cups of tea and lots of squabbling. It caused a fair amount of noise in the CT Slack channel and will almost certainly spark even louder arguments in the comments. These, though, are our picks for the 10 finest petrol-powered cars to come out of BMW’s performance division — machines that define what M was before the switch is finally thrown.

It wasn’t easy narrowing it down, so a few honourable mentions deserve a nod: the E28 M5 for inventing the fast executive saloon; the E36 M3 for remaining the most accessible way into proper M ownership; and the current M2, which stands as one of the last truly old-school, rear-drive, manual M cars you can still buy. With that context set, it’s time to get on with the list.

10. E92 M3 GTS

The E9x-generation M3 remains the odd one out in M history, thanks to its naturally aspirated V8 – and what a V8 it was. A 4.0-litre, sky-revving masterpiece that turned the M3 into something properly special and has since helped cement this generation’s modern-classic status.

The pick of the bunch, though, is the stripped-back, track-focused GTS. Power climbed to 444bhp courtesy of a bored-out 4.4-litre version of the engine, weight dropped by a hefty 136kg, and the suspension was sharpened accordingly. The result was one of the very few cars that could genuinely rattle the Porsche 911 GT3’s cage. Also, it was orange. Very orange.

9. F87 M2 Competition

The original M2 was excellent, but the Competition version is where it truly came alive. Introduced in 2018, it nailed an almost faultless formula: compact coupe, rear-wheel drive, manual gearbox as standard, and the 405bhp S55 twin-turbo straight-six lifted straight from the M3 and M4.

It felt purpose-built rather than overthought, and all the better for it. The later CS sharpened things further, but not by enough to justify the price hike or rarity. The Competition hits the sweet spot, and it’s exactly the sort of car we wish more manufacturers would still bother making.

8. Z3 M Coupe

BMW in the 1990s was clearly in a creative mood. First it decided the Z3 Coupe should look like a ‘clown shoe’ shooting brake rather than a conventional coupe, then it dropped the 3.2-litre straight-six from the E36 M3 under the bonnet.

The result is one of the rarest and most characterful M cars ever made, and a full-blown cult classic today. It’s always a joy to see one in the wild. Frankly, this list could double as a plea to bring back shooting brakes, naturally aspirated straight-sixes, and loud ’90s paint colours.

7. E61 M5 Touring

The E6x-generation M5 feels like a product of an era when manufacturers were willing to indulge wild ideas simply because they could. That’s how BMW ended up fitting a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V10 producing 500bhp into a mid-size executive saloon – and, crucially, an estate.

Yes, it’s complicated. Yes, it has a reputation for being temperamental. But the combination of a screaming V10 and genuine family-hauling practicality is something we’re never likely to see again. For sheer ambition alone, the E61 M5 Touring earns its place here.

6. F90 M5 CS

If you’re looking for the most devastatingly capable all-rounder M has ever built, this may well be it. Based on the already excellent M5 Competition, the CS turned everything up another notch: 626bhp from the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8, 116kg shaved off the kerbweight, and immense real-world pace.

Purists may grumble about four-wheel drive and the lack of a manual option, but the M5 CS is M division doing what it does best: taking a sensible BMW saloon and transforming it into something properly extraordinary. Those yellow running lights don’t hurt, either.

5. E30 M3

Few cars earn the word ‘icon’ as convincingly as the E30 M3. Built purely so BMW could go racing in the DTM, it stands as the definitive ’80s homologation special, with its boxy stance and pumped-up arches still looking purposeful today.

Power came from a naturally aspirated four-cylinder rather than the straight-six many expect, but in ultimate Sport Evolution form it was making 235bhp in a car weighing around 1200kg. Whichever version you choose, the E30 M3 remains one of the most important performance cars BMW has ever produced.

4. M1

The M1 is still a one-off in BMW history. It was the first M car, the only mid-engined M car, and the only one not based on an existing production BMW. Everything that followed took a very different path.

Styled by Giugiaro, powered by a glorious straight-six, and immortalised by the Procar race series, the M1 almost didn’t happen at all thanks to a famously chaotic development story involving Lamborghini’s financial collapse. That it exists at all feels remarkable – and we’re all the richer for it.

3. 1-Series M Coupe

On paper, the 1M shouldn’t work this well. It was based on the humblest BMW of its time and marked the arrival of turbocharging in M cars. Hardly a recipe for greatness.

And yet, the M division worked its magic. A 335bhp turbocharged straight-six, rear-wheel drive, compact dimensions, and gloriously aggressive bodywork combined to create a car bursting with character. It’s playful, involving, and hugely charismatic – to the point that more than a few people would happily argue it deserves the top spot.

2. E39 M5

The E39 M5 might just be the perfect super saloon. Naturally aspirated V8. Manual gearbox only. Rear-wheel drive. Subtle styling that rewards those who know exactly what they’re looking at.

Crucially, it didn’t just look right – it drove beautifully, too. Fast, engaging, and wonderfully analogue, it arrived just before performance cars became overloaded with technology. Few cars balance refinement and excitement so well. Oxford Green with tan leather, obviously.

1. E46 M3 CSL

Ask someone to describe the archetypal BMW M car and chances are they’ll describe the E46 M3 CSL, whether they realise it or not. Rear-wheel drive, naturally aspirated straight-six, lightweight construction, and a design that subtly but unmistakably signals its intent.

By stripping 110kg from the standard M3, BMW created a 1385kg coupe with 355bhp from the magnificent S54 engine – one of the finest six-cylinders ever built. It was raw, uncompromising, and famously lively on its original tyres.

Yes, it only came with the much-maligned SMG gearbox. But with sympathetic manual conversions now available, even that final caveat has been removed. The result is a car that still stands as the purest expression of what M has always been about.