Tricky and dangerous though it was, the E36 replacement for the E30 was the first clear and obvious break with the proportions and styling details established way back with the 2002 and was an all-new machine in almost every way.
   In practically every dimension, the E36 four-door was slightly larger than the E30. At 106.3 inches the E36's wheelbase stretched 5.1 inches longer than the E30's and it was slightly more than 4 inches longer overall. But the extra size was put to good use with increased passenger room, a substantially stiffer structure and an ideal 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution. But the wedge-shaped body of the E36 kept it from looking much larger than the bolt-upright E30, and its sleek detailing both improved aerodynamics and reduced wind noise.
   While the four-door E36 debuted in the fall of 1991 as a 1992 model, the two-door coupe didn't appear until later in that model year. The convertible remained unchained, however. Unlike previous 3 Series two-doors, the E36 version wasn't an upright sedan with two less doors, but a more rakish car altogether. The front windshield was more steeply laid back than in the sedan, as was the rear window, and from the A-pillar back the 325is coupe was a completely different car from the sedan. But it looked a lot like the sedan anyhow, a family resemblance that was comforting to most buyers and disappointing to some critics who thought BMW could have been more radical with the coupe. In 1994, the E36 version of the convertible finally bowed.
   Of course, the star of the E36 line would be the M3. Hitting the market for 1995 with a thunderclap of exceeded expectations, the E36 M3 two-door coupe wasn't the narrowly focused track car the E30 version was, but an exceptional road machine with a flexible engine and an imperturbable chassis. The U.S. M3 was equipped with a bored-and-stroked version of the 325i's inline six. This 3.0-liter had 240 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque at its disposal, which it deployed in such a refined and generous fashion. European M3s got a 282-horsepower version of the same engine, but it was peakier with a less hearty torque curve.