So, what happens when all of your dreams come true? For one auto writer, it happened at a race track in Spain. He was presented with what many of us may consider our very own "dream."
An open race track and a garage loaded with the entire M3 lineup from E30 to E92.
Uh, what?! That's spectacular. But there is one caveat; he's with a slew of other ham-headed journalists.
I have come to realize that auto journalists -- in particular -- are essentially immature children with one goal in mind: 1) destroy anything and everything you come into contact with, while disrespecting the hell out of whatever product they're "testing."
Keeping this in mind, our boy Ben had to act fast because there would be no telling when a journalist, thinking he's Michael Schumacher, plows a pristine M car into a wall because he thought he "had it."
**Read about Ben Barry's dream garage by clicking "Read Article."
When it comes to dream garages, I have a terrible lack of imagination. Dream classic? E30 M3 Sport Evo – the last of the first M3s with the bigger 2.5-litre engine. Family car? Early E36 M3 saloon – the one with the softer suspension, smoother 3.0-litre engine and slicker five-speed gearbox. Dream track car? E46 M3 CSL – you know the CSL, right? The lightweight grey or black one with the SMG gearbox and carbon roof? I’d love one of those. Dream daily driver? New E92 M3 coupe – supple ride, awesome comfort, great engine, brilliant chassis.
Anyway, I and hordes of other journalists from around the world was recently invited to Ascari racetrack in southern Spain to drive the new M3 GTS, to get a passenger ride in the new 1-series M, and, almost incidental to the programme this, to drive a collection of BMW M’s heritage cars, from E30 through to E92.
I couldn’t quite believe it when I arrived: there before me, lined up, was my dream garage. All of the M3s were museum pieces, the vast majority showing under 10,000km, and all were simply left in the pitlane with the keys in the ignition. A load more lurked in an underground garage. It was without doubt the most complete, most immaculately presented collection of M3s in the world, and here was BMW M essentially handing the keys to complete strangers – Spanish! Greeks! – at a fast racetrack that most of us didn’t know. Crackers...
[Source: CAR Magazine]
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