The BMW M cars have kind of a fascinating history. They started back in the late 1970s with roadgoing versions of pure racing cars like the original M1 and later the E30 M3. These days, a lot of critics say the "M" doesn't stand for Motorsport anymore, but they're still quick and powerful.
Is that enough, though? I certainly miss the days when M cars were street legal race cars, or at least used racing-derived engines. It's not that the newer ones aren't potent; they just don't seem as unapologetically racy as they did before.
But don't take my word for it. You can trace the lineage of most of the M line in this handy chart developed by the UK website Carfinance 24/7. It's certainly an interesting evolution from a supercar built to go racing to overpowered diesel SUVs, isn't it?
Photo credit Carfinance 24/7
The Mostly Glorious History Of BMW's M Cars In One Cool Chart