We just had the opportunity to attend the Amelia Island Concours “Cars & Caffeine” event, which featured some of the nicest classic BMW M cars you’ll ever see. Obviously, BMW M wasn’t the only brand on hand but the classic Bimmers were stunning. Some were a bit more modern than others but most of the BMWs on hand were older, iconic classics.
There were a few really special cars, including the original E28 BMW M5, my personal favorite BMW of all time. The gorgeous black M5 stood proud, as the original proper M Division product, with its iconic black-over-tan color scheme. If you’ve ever been inside of the E28 M5, you’d know just how special it feels inside, from its hand-assembled interior and incredible outward visibility.
As always, the E30 M3 was in attendance as well. Is there ever a classic BMW event in which the E30 M3 doesn’t attend? It’s the go-to classic BMW and probably the one most known by BMW enthusiasts. Of course, it was red and lovely.
But there were a few interesting, unexpected cars on hand as well. For instance, an E34 M5 Touring was there, looking killer in green, as was a Valencia Orange BMW 1M. One of the coolest cars in attendance was a purple E24 M6, which — as we just learned — is a far more enjoyable car to drive than a lot of BMW fans remember. The Z3 M Coupe, nicknamed the “Clownshoe” was there, too, being its usual quirky self.
Seeing all these BMWs in one place reminds us of just how special so many classic BMW M cars were. Over the last 50 years, BMW M has made some genuinely incredible machines, cars that will inspire future generations of enthusiasts for years to come. Newer M cars are great but I don’t know if we’ll ever look back on most of current M cars as we do with these.
