1988 BMW E30 M3 Europameister

What Road & Track cleverly called “a thinly disguised racer for the road”, developed directly for motorsport, the original and the best first-generation M3 was a true competition special, perfectly fit for purpose and built in strictly limited numbers.

The most successful Touring Racing Car ever, winning over 1,500 races including the:

- Nürburgring 24hr 5 times

- Spa 24hr 4 times

- 1987 World Touring Car Championship

- 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship (to name a few)

The BMW E30 M3 is a production car built purely to homologate a Group-A racer that became one of the most iconic sportscars ever made.

Today, BMW refer to the E30 M3 as a ‘Class pioneer and eternal benchmark’. It’s best known feature is its lightweight and fast S14 power unit dressed with an expensive Black crackle finish mated to a limited slip differential that was derived from BMW’s successful M10 F1 program. 

The 3-Series chassis the M3 uses was clothed in an all-new set of panels with wider boxed arches to house larger BBS alloys, a wider track, beefier suspension and advanced ABS systems. An aggressive body-kit added front, rear and side skirts plus a tall rear wing and special raked C-Pillar cap with bonded rear window that significantly improved aerodynamics. 

The E30 M3 also featured the fabled 5-speed Getrag ‘dog-leg’ gearbox borrowed straight from the race car that kept 2nd and 3rd gears on a single plane allowing for faster changes as well as an on-board computer with air-temp, time and driving data etc. Totally uncompromising in design and so advanced for the time but the subtle ‘click’ you hear/feel shifting the Getrag from first into second alone is enough to want to own one.

Throughout production, every so often, BMW would launch a special, limited-edition model that lifted the car to instant classic status. Limited-edition cars were launched by BMW primarily to coincide with motorsport success. 

Enthusiasts and collectors will turn their minds to the Europameister 88 edition or ‘European Champion’ which, celebrated the E30 M3’s domination of the 1988 European Touring Car Championship. 

Just 148 Europameister 88 editions were ever made and they were built for a period of only 2 months, selling out immediately at launch. Each of the cars were fitted with a limited-edition plaque signed by legendary racing driver Roberto Ravaglia- the “Speed Merchant of Venice”, painted exclusively in Macao Blue Metallic and trimmed in Silver Nappa leather and they were all optioned with the Championship Package, that included:

- Sunroof

- Electric windows

- Larger 16-Inch BBS alloys

- Extended front spoiler

- BMW Motorsport package

- M Technic footrest

- M3 logo entry sills

This was BMW’s first limited-edition build of the first ever M3 and they were classed internally as a Celebration Special. Only a handful of the original 148 cars survive today, you’re almost guaranteed to never see one in the wild in Europe, let alone Down Under but that’s exactly what is available here. 

A hidden gem, in accordance with its incredibly detailed history file, communications from the BMW Group Archive note this Right Hand Drive E30 M3 Europameister 88 is a European Specification car, built November 1988 and delivered in December as a special order for a long-running client of Hexagon BMW Highgate, London – still with its selling dealer sticker in the rear window.

Prior to delivery, as a brand-new car with zero Kilometres on the clock, the first owner placed a special order with Hexagon BMW to commission mechanical specialists Birds BMW to convert the car to Right Hand Drive. Birds conversions are celebrated among BMW collectors for their rarity and high quality workmanship and documents within the history file confirm this is 1 of only 3 cars that went through this process. It’s also most likely the only Europameister 88 in RHD.

An incredibly special and rare car, the original owner also ordered the following additional options over and above the Championship Pack:

- Green stripe windscreen

- Velour floor mats

- Heated seats

- BMW Bavaria C stereo

- Warning triangle

- Roof antenna

- Cassette holder console

In excellent and original condition throughout, having been owned by out and out BMW enthusiasts and maintained with BMW specialists it’s entire life, all documented within the hundreds of pages of history in accompaniment, this car arrived in Australia in 2011 as part of a private BMW collection. 

Importantly, this example still retains all of its correct and original limited-edition features from the Roberto Ravaglia signature plaque and extended body kit, through to the correct Silver Nappa leather trim and larger 16 Inch BBS alloys. 

Mechanically, this car is also absolutely on the button and would have to be one of the best driving E30 M3’s extant. A credit to the vendor who wanted to experience exactly what this car would have been like the day it rolled off the showroom floor, over the course of the last 18 months, this car has received an exhaustive mechanical refurbishment carried out by the best classic BMW specialists in Sydney that includes:

New power steering rack

Rear differential overhaul

Wheel bearings

Brakes overhaul with new discs and lines brakes front and rear 

Gearbox selector shaft seal

New sump gasket

New rocker cover gasket

New clutch slave cylinder

New stainless-steel exhaust system and headers

New Bilstein shock absorbers front and rear

Any and all niggling items were thoroughly sorted and it shows, from the moment you turn the key to fire up the perfect hum of that famous S14 inline engine, to its guttural acceleration, the crispness of the gear change and the way this car tackles corners at seemingly any speed, this Europameister 88 is simply ready to enjoy right out of the gate.

It also features an uprated radiator to sustain Australian operating temperatures with a new/old BMW stock one in accompaniment and a modern radio with Bluetooth and new speakers, the originals also in tow.

And, in May of 2024, this car was also treated to a complete paint restoration and ceramic coating with deep interior and engine bay detail by Project Paintwork, Sydney.

Probably one of the best documented cars anywhere, this Europameister 88 is accompanied by its original service book and BMW book pack contained in the leather BMW wallet as well as an over 100-page folio containing service and parts receipts, MOT’s, UK Tax Discs, communications with Birds BMW and BMW Archives, plus magazine clippings and its Australian import certification documents.

It’s hard to imagine another collectable car with as much provenance as this E30 M3. The first of an iconic lineage of M cars, built in strictly limited numbers purely to homologate a racer that absolutely dominated World Touring Car Championships, the very first special edition model M3 with only 148 ever made and BMW’s most celebrated M driver’s signature on the dash, reported to be the only Right Hand Drive example from new in the world, a fully documented history with original log books and the only one of its kind in Australia in superb condition throughout and nothing to spend.

A limited-edition Munich Legend to form a cornerstone of any collection and experience one of the greatest road and race cars ever made, with Young Timer classics on the up and up worldwide, this E30 M3 Europameister 88 is a very savvy buy.