These two titans of German performance battled hard on track, but which car makes most sense on the road? With BMW M3 E30 prices surging past £20k and decent 190Es on offer for around half that, is the M3 really twice the car?
The Power
It's hard to imagine now, but the M3's power output was a lot. You also have to remember that there's not much to an E30; that 195bhp 2.3-litre's four-pot will whisk you to 60mph in a shade under seven seconds and on to just shy of 150mph.
The three-pointed star hits back with 185bhp thanks to us Brits (via) Cosworth, who developed the cylinder head, camshafts, valves. It too displaces 2.3 litres, though a 2.5-litre (with 204bhp) was offered from 1988. It does take around a second longer to get 60mph and is around 6mph slower, but in the real world would you feel it?
The Glory
BMW M3 is one of the most successful racing cars ever made, with dozens of national and international race victories, championship wins and more to its name. It took the British Touring Car Championship in 1988 and 1999, and scooped the 1987 World Touring Car Championship driver's title for Roberto Ravaglia. It also proved to be handy in tarmac rallying, Bernard Beguin piloting a Prodrive-built car to victory on the 1987 Tour de Corse.
The Mercedes… well, every time it tried the BMWs were either a step ahead of them, or an interloper appeared with a turbo (Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth) or a whopping V8 (Audi V8). Nevertheless, Mercedes finally took the DTM title in 1992 with the fantastically bodykitted Evo 2. The 190E Evo 2 dominated that year, being first to the flag in 16 races. It also gave birth to a homologation special road car with all the spoilers of the race cars. Who said Mercedes were boring?
The Looks
While the Mercedes is undoubtedly more sporting character than regular 190Es, it's not particularly showy about it. Yes, the bodykit is quite exciting, but for something wearing the Cosworth badge it's positively shy. There's some merit in that approach – it's much less likely to attract tea leaves.
The M3 however is an E30 on steroids. Its box arches only hint at the car's dynamic abilities, but despite this it's not too overblown. The later evolution models did add more spoilers, though nowhere near as much as the aforementioned 190E Evo 2.
The Handling
Pootling around town you'd be struggling to see what the fuss is about with the M3. It's a bit sow on the up take and it's hardly the most tuneful engine. But get past 5000rpm and you'll enter a whole world of fun. The stiffer and wider suspension helps you put the power onto the road with aplomb, and the revised rack means the steering direct. It's a car for maximum attack driving, really.
This is quite a contrast to the much more refined Mercedes. Yes, it's suitably fast and it's got plenty of heave, but this is much more at home cruising at high speed or turning lightly curved A-roads into slivers of high-speed high jinx. It's not exactly a car for firing around circuits.
Or so you might think – in 1984 one Ayrton Senna once took on the world's greatest F1 drivers in a demo run for Mercedes' then-new 190E Cosworth – and beat everyone.
Living With It
Going back to our earlier point – the M3 is really a weekend thrill machine. To use it everyday would be like getting a Collie dog to simply play high fives. The M3 would do all you'd ask of it, but it's best suited for the task it was created for – highly cerebral maximum attack. Though I'm not sure we'd herd sheep in one – that chin spoiler is quite low.
The Mercedes, if we're using the dog analogy, is more like a Greyhound. Yes, it can go very, very fast, and do so for a long time, but when it's not chasing the horizon it's happy to doze around and do its thing in the manner of the best Mercs – serenely, solidly and quietly. Though I'm not sure the Merc would look its best snoring upside down on a sofa for hours on end like a greyhound would.
Summary
To sum up – both cars are highly desirable, but as everyday transport only one is really up to the task, and that's the 190E. But for a Sunday morning blast across the Moors? It has to be the M3.
Ideally, you'd want to own both. Now where's my Euromillions ticket…