MOTORSPORTS FOR SUN-WORSHIPPERS.

The BMW M4 Convertible Edition 30 Jahre marks the current high point of a sports car which made headlines at the back-end of the 1980s. 1988, the year the European Football Championship took place in Germany, the country also witnessed the debut of the first BMW M3 Convertible: straightforward, fast and an instant cult vehicle from the moment it launched. Available from 1990, the 215 hp four-cylinder petrol engine gave the open-air BMW M3 the potential to accelerate to 239 km/h – faster than any other four-seater production convertible at the time. Incidentally, the ‘Macao Blue Metallic’ paint shade, which can be selected for the new BMW M4 Convertible Edition 30 Jahre, is exactly the same as the one used for the debut of the original model from three decades ago – one of three metallic paints that were on offer at the time.

For the launch of the second-generation BMW M3 Convertible from 1994 onwards, numerous technical innovations were added to the car’s design, including a raft of new safety features. The rollover bars behind the rear seat headrests would spring up if the car was in danger of turning over. The second-generation BMW M3 Convertible’s newly-developed inline 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine with 286 hp was advanced for the time. A performance-enhanced version followed in 1995 with a 3.2-litre engine and 321 hp, meaning the vehicle could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. This model launched with the new paint shade ‘Dakar Yellow’, and this eye-catching colour is still used on many BMW M3 models. The new BMW M4 Convertible Edition 30 Jahre selectable exterior colour ‘Mandarin II Uni’ is reminiscent of it.

In the spring of 2008, the BMW Convertible era was taken to another level: for the first time since its inception, the BMW M3 was able to utilise the potential of eight cylinders. As well as this, it boasted twice as many combustion chambers as the first BMW M3 Convertible and now 420 hp and almost twice the performance of its ancestor. With a maximum 8,400 revolutions per minute, the 4.0-litre engine was also the highest-revving production engine ever used by BMW M. Paired with the M DKG dual-clutch transmission, which was available for the first time, the BMW M3 Convertible could hit 0-100 km/h in a heady 5.1 seconds.