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  • Article - Hartge MC

    Saved this one as a web page so have pasted in the text and pics in the order from the webpage. Article from Total BMW



    Nestling in the corner on the cover of TBMW February was Terry's dream car. He pretty much had his ideal wheels, as he had just bought a brand-new silver M Coupe. But the Hartge car we featured was the M car with all the twists a man could desire. It was a Hartge development car, retained by the tuning legend for the use of one of its staff. It boasted reworked suspension, 19 inch wheels, a fantastic bonnet bristling with vents and, best of all, Hartge's wonderful 5-litre V8 conversion. We loved it. "It's a hooligan," we raved, "making no attempt to disguise the fact". Of course, the standard item is no wuss. It weighs 1400 kg, which is 40 kg less than the E36 M3 Evolution, whose 3.2-litre six lurks under its bonnet.



    Predictably, it's a bit more rapid than the Three, springing to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, and forging on to a 160 mph top speed. The M3's 0-60 time is just 5.5 seconds and its top speed 162 mph, but the two cars couldn't be more different. The M3 is refined, indecently rapid and a truly grown-up super Coupe. It effortlessly covers enormous mileages at great speed and can acquit itself wonderfully if the going gets twisty. The M Coupe, on the other hand, is over a foot shorter with 10 inches less wheelbase. The result is an insane, bread van-shaped missile with a huge penchant for oversteer and a teensy, old-style cabin from which the driver directs proceedings while playing at piloting the kind of retro rocket my father calls "hairy-chested". He's referring to the MGC or Austin Healey 3000, although the sort of performance the M Coupe gives is really more based on that of the Healey's vague relation, Carroll Shelby's excess-all-areas AC Cobra.



    The oddball shell, which looks rather like a Z3 had it off behind the bike sheds with a Reliant Scimitar GTE, is actually one of BMW's stiffest ever. And best of all, M-Sport saw fit to ditch the dreadful, E30-styletrailing-arm rear suspension that made the ragtop so uninspiring whenever handling of any sophistication was called for. The Z3 M and M Coupe got the sophisticated four-link system that gave the 3 litre M3 its supreme ability to cross country. In cahoots with the short wheelbase, this serves up oversteer a driver can control and enjoy rather than, as with anE30 3251 for example, simply fear.



    The M Coupe, of course, was remarkably tricky to pin down. It was a sports car, sure, but it had a tin top. There was nothing quite like it until June 1999, when Audi's TT minced onto the Fulham Road. In reality, the dumpy yet gracefully-styled creation was still light years away from the bizarre BMW, but at least it was a sports coupe. It was simply defined by its looks rather than its kinetic abilities. As a result, of course, aspirant Middle England went mad for it. And so did yuppie Amsterdam, where Terry actually lives. He grew up in South Wales, where he visits often and where, until a year's ownership has elapsed and he can take it back to Holland without incurring punitive tax, the M Coupe lives. "I used to be a TT man," he grins. "But when almost everyone on my street got one I thought it was time to change." In truth, he had also discovered what those eager Audi punters are all finding out -- looks aren't everything. Under its sleek skin, the TT is as dull as rocks.



    So what sporting Coupe can the poor, disillusioned motorist turn to for fun? There's the odd Japanese creation, but it's rare for someone used to the solidity of German cars to desire their plasticky charms. Really, the best bet is the old-world lunacy of the M Coupe, a conclusion which Terry rather sensibly arrived at. The M Coupe is the urbane E36 M3's lairy, live-wire, drug-taking cousin. It's flawed yet never, ever dull. Which is why it's still selling. Although its sales peak was 1999, the year after its introduction, people are still placing orders. And, despite the Z3 having ceased production to clear its US production line for the upcoming Z4, the M versions are still being made.



    At the end of the feature in Total BMW was the telephone number of Birds, legendary Uxbridge-based UK dealer in Hartge products. Fired up as he was by the Hartge car, Terry rang it. This call began a relationship that has been very fruitful so far, and looks set to continue. He had some rather wild ideas about what he might like to do to the car, only some of which were sanctioned by Birds' head honcho, Kevin. "He basically walked me through my options," Terry recalls, "actually refusing to do some things I asked him about." The suspension, for instance, really requires little improvement unless it has to deal with more power. Similarly, the M Power brakes are remarkably effective. In fact, despite its massive ability (it only had 29 bhp more than standard, but boasted 376 lb.ft torque at 3550rpm, 125 more than the Munich car's and produced 1350 rpm sooner) Hartge's version used the stock braking.

    Instead, Kevin allowed Terry to beef up the M Coupe visually. Hartge produces a replacement bonnet, which bristles with vents. Nacelle ducts a teach front corner let cold air in, while louvre vents further back relieve the engine bay of heat. This will be of paramount importance when he has theV8 conversion in the not-so-distant future. At present, the only engine modification is a brace of Hartge exhaust back boxes, which poke two large oval tailpipes from under the rear valance. So at the moment the expensive, exclusive Kevlar bonnet simply looks good. As do excessively tasty Hartge alloys. These, the signature Classic, are 1l-spoke split rim items of very high quality. The fronts are 8x19 and shod in 235/35 Pirelli P7000 rubber. At the rear they are a fat 9.6x19, wearing enormous 265/30 P7000s.



    The place of most significance in an M Coupe is, of course, its cabin. This small, rather enclosed space is where all the action is felt. Terry's cockpit is rather more exclusive than most. The rather blank plastic facings of the standard offering are not part of BMW's greatest ever interior design success. Thankfully, Birds incorporates a very high-end trimming and ICE installation outfit, going by the name of Hide and Fidelity. "They've done really well," Terry enthuses, "but it's a bit nerve-wracking having someone take your dash apart." Once out of the car and dismantled, the dash was retrimmed in black Dinamica. Unfamiliar term? Dinamica, it seems, is a terrifically expensive synthetic cloth that resembles suede. It is much like Alcantara, which provides the gold-coloured highlights.

    Matching the Alcantara perfectly for colour is wood trim in blonde birds-eye maple. Birds has added some shiny details, such as a Hartge alloy gearknob, handbrake and pedal set. But the feature which also complements the trimmed dash wonderfully is the fantastically camp retro touch of the Z8 steering wheel. Apparently, Terry says, "BMW said it couldn't be done. But Kevin made it fit". Black Dinamica has also been used to cover the face of the rear bulkhead and the C-pillars, for a unified interior. The standard black leather seats are retained, however.



    Outside too are subtle details that a cursory inspection would miss. Those chrome door handles are an option from somewhere in the Z3 range, which Birds managed to source for Terry. And see that rear roof lip spoiler? As it leaves the factory it's matt black. Colour-coded to the paintwork, it no longer offends Terry's aesthetic sensibilities. Hartge and Birds have made Terry very happy. And he plans to continue along the path to motoring nirvana as time goes on. Eventually, the car will probably be every bit as mad as the one we featured in February, and will have emptied his bank account of a rather significant proportion of its balance.
    2000 Dakar MC
    1999 Cosmos Z3 2.8
    2004 545i Sport

  • #2
    that interior is horrid!

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    • #3
      Originally posted by BEN View Post
      that interior is horrid!
      Yeah - the Z8 steering wheel is so out of place - and not to mention the mile wide gap lines on the bonnet.
      2000 Dakar MC
      1999 Cosmos Z3 2.8
      2004 545i Sport

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