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1987 Gruppe A E30 M3
Technical Highlights

E30 M3 Gr A right front suspension Before Arthur Porter sold his 1987 E30 M3 Gruppe A racecar he was kind enough to take some photos of it for me. Those photos are presented here and show some interesting details regarding BMW Motorsport preparation of the E30 M3 for racing in the "early days".

I think that tracking the progress of E30 M3 factory Gr A racecars is instructive for those of us modifying these cars today. BMW Motorsport had relatively large resources at their disposal, and they had the luxury of working with the engineers who actually designed the car in the first place. So now, many years later, we can still look to the Motorsport solutions to gain insight and inspiration. Some of the technology has changed, for instance we today have ready access to much more sophisticated engine management systems. And the arena of materials science and surface coatings has come a long way since then. But overall the racing world is not "that" different. The same laws of physics governing power production, chassis stiffening, and suspension tuning still apply today, as they did in the late 80's and early 90's.


Left front suspension Right front suspension
Left rear suspension Left rear suspension (second shot)
Right rear suspension Trailing arm pickup point (left)
Trailing arm pickup point (right) Differential area
Differential area (second shot) Engine

See additional photos of this car in action during the prime of its racing career in the Gallery section.


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