1987 BMW E30 M3

IMSA Firehawk Series

VIN#: 2195001

ENGINE  2.3-liter S14B23 four-cylinder

OUTPUT  192 hp @ 6750 rpm, 170 lb-ft @ 4750 rpm

TRANSMISSION  5-speed Getrag manual

CURB WEIGHT  2857 lbs.

TOP SPEED  141 mph

BUILD DATE  December 1986

COLOR  1984 Corvette White

OWNER  Scott Hughes

OWNED SINCE  2010

LOCATION  Sunset, SOUTH CAROLINA

It only makes sense that the first U.S.-spec E30 M3 began life as a race car, and that it was first run by the driver and tuning legend many call “Mister BMW.” 

Ray Korman received U.S. E30 M3 VINs 001 and 002 to run in IMSA’s Firestone Firehawk Series. BMW marketing brand manager Erik Wensberg asked Korman to paint the cars white with traditional Motorsport stripes. Korman was delighted to comply. 

“I thought that was great,” Korman, now 90, says. “We were getting sponsored. Erik sent us jackets that said BMW M Team. I just picked the same white as I used before on my 325.”

Korman’s two showroom-stock M3s first took on the ultra-competitive Firehawk Series in 1987. There were teething issues.

“Our weakness, really, was the brakes,” Korman remembers. “They needed air. And the rules stated that if the car didn’t come with air ducts, you couldn’t add them. So if we started getting into the ABS often, they would overheat, badly.”

Once those issues were mitigated, Korman’s cars went to the front of the pack. In 1987, 001 finished first at Watkins Glen with Davy Jones and Korman behind the wheel, followed home by 002 in the hands of John Andretti and Ron Christensen. It was the first time in Firehawk history that a single team had occupied the top two steps of a podium. 

Korman ran 001 for five seasons before selling the car. Scott Hughes purchased it in 2010.

“When we got it, it was German flag colors,” Hughes says. “We repainted it and took it to Mid-Ohio. Ray was there. He was overwhelmed to see the car back the way he ran it.”

Scott got Ray back behind the wheel of 001 at the 2016 Monterey Motorsports Reunion, during BMW’s 100th-anniversary celebration. 

“I had a barrel of fun there,” Korman says. “When I raced there before, we were on the 14-inch wheels, running the street Firestone tires. Scott went up to 15-inch, and he had track tires on it. So I had a great deal more grip. I got around there a whole lot faster than ever before.”