How does one top greatness? It’s a question often pondered once people reach a certain peak of achievement.

Be it a musician, author, or director who just created their magnum opus or a carmaker that produced a gem of a machine, it is difficult to create a follow-up that matches the predecessor’s expectations.

In the case of the E36 BMW M3, not only did it face difficulties and scrutiny as the successor to the E30 M3 but it was overlooked completely when the E46 M3 replaced it at the turn of the millennium.

Since then, the E36 has been treated like a middle child by many M3 enthusiasts, overshadowed by both its predecessor and successor. However, we find this simply unjustifiable because in our book, the E36 is a great follow-up to one of the most famous Teutonic performance cars ever.

A more global successor

Originally, the first few seasons of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) had more humbler roots as it was largely open to privateer teams. The famous German touring car race series that gave us the blessing of the first BMW M3 imposed some rule changes, opening for more lucrative works teams to enter the competition.

The E30 BMW M3 dominated not just the DTM, winning two driver titles in 1987 and 1989, but globally too including 7 consecutive Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTC-2) titles, 4 Italia Superismo Championships, 2 British Touring Car Championship titles, and the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Homologation rules dictated that at least 5,000 units of the road-going E30 M3 must be built before BMW could take part in the touring car races. However, demand easily exceeded the minimum quota.

Between March 1986 and June 1991, a total of 17,970 units of the original M3 were built, all in left-hand drive (LHD) configuration only.

With the E30 M3 entering legendary status, its successor was facing the unenvious job of being a superior performance car. The E36 3 Series was launched in 1990 but it would take a couple more years for the M3 version to be introduced.

BMW decided to expand the M3 portfolio with the introduction of a 4-door sedan in December 1994. The German marque initially only wanted to offer coupe and convertible versions for the M3 as the super saloon position was initially only filled up by the BMW M5.

However, the E34 M5 was facing its end of production in the mid-‘90s leaving the M3 sedan as a sort of stop-gap measure before the arrival of the E39 M5 in 1998.

Aside from the addition of a new body style, the E36 M3 was also offered in right-hand drive (RHD), gained two more cylinders in the form of an inline-six, and came with an optional automatic transmission. Blissfully, the one we were given the opportunity to have a closer look came with a 5-speed manual transmission.

An official Malaysian unit

The first M3 to be offered with RHD is especially rare in Malaysia as BMW’s then distributor, Auto Bavaria, officially brought only 3 units of the M3 Sedan into the country.

According to Yasin from JPM Exotics who graciously gave us a tour around the M3, this is a 1995 unit. The first owner kept it from new until 2020 when it was sold to the current owner but it remained mostly stock mechanically.

A few modifications were added to the sports sedan including a pair of strut bars under the hood as well as in the rear. Meanwhile, the car has been repainted black for a stealthy look but the rear spoiler as well as the Style 39 “Sunflower” alloy wheels came original with this E36 M3.

Inside, the sports sedan screams 1990s BMW as well as a simpler time when the Bavarian carmaker let its car do the talking instead of being too over-the-top. There might be plenty of buttons all over the driver-curved dashboard but all of them are still working faultlessly.

Even though the odometer has recorded more than 215,000 km of mileage, the 3.0-litre naturally aspirated S50 straight-six (286 PS/320 Nm) is still punchy and eager. As Yasin drove us around the outskirts of Kota Damansara, we felt that ultimate BMW handling as it went around the bends with the same precision as a ballerina doing a pirouette.

Which brings me back to some of the hate the E36 M3 received when it was introduced more than 30 years ago. Comparing it to an E30 is simply unfair as the older guard existed thanks to homologation rules.

Even though the E30 has a trophy cabinet of titles, the E36’s list of championship wins is still impressive including the IMSA GT Championship which BMW won 3 consecutive titles and the GT class of the American Le Mans Series.

The E36 set the tone for a globalised BMW M3 model. Most of the issues that purists and those in the media at the time called unworthy of the M badge were revised in the E46. Yet, the E36 M3 should not be brushed off completely from consciousness and the sedan version represented a sensible solution for a performance car with enough space for the family and some luggage.

This one can even be yours for RM 119,000 with all the necessary maintenance work done. For more information, you can check out the listing at JPM Exotics or contact 012-260 3810.

Special thanks to Yasin from JPM Exotics for giving us a tour of this E36 M3 Sedan.

@wapcar_zamil Sports sedan berlegenda yang sebenar, dengan transmisi manual, dan enjin 6-silinder! Beli geng! #malaysiatiktok #carsoftiktok #cartok #bmwm3 #bmwm3e36 #m3 #m3e36 #autobavaria #jpm #jpmexotics #s50b30 #bmwmalaysia #wapcar #malaysia @jpmexotics ♬ Beast Mode - ROKKA