1991 BMW E30 M3

VIN#: AE34628

ENGINE  2.3-liter S14B23 four-cylinder 

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

TRANSMISSION  5-speed Getrag manual

CURB WEIGHT  2867 lbs.

TOP SPEED  141 mph

BUILD DATE December 1990

COLOR  Alpine White II

OWNER  Lance White

OWNED SINCE  N/A

LOCATION  Cincinnati, OHIO

This is the final E30 M3 made for the U.S. And with slightly more than 6000 miles on the odometer, it’s a time capsule. For owner Lance White, that’s a conundrum.

“If it gets in an accident and something happens,” White says, “it’s no longer pristine. I don’t sell very many cars, and I generally don’t keep cars that don’t put a smile on my face, and that I don’t drive.”

White uses his cars, but this M3 is the exception. “It’s the last one. There’s some duty involved in maintaining this.”

Decades ago, the final U.S.-spec E30 M3 was included in an auction to benefit Lime Rock Park. The car was sitting at a distribution center in Chicago, and BMW marketing brand manager Erik Wensberg tracked it down. One auctioneer was race-car driver, TV commentator, and car dealer David Hobbs. When the M3 hit the block, Hobbs suddenly became a bidder. He won.

Hobbs took the car to Wisconsin and kept it at one of his dealers, eventually selling it. It wasn’t expensive; back then, M3s were just used cars. Then in 2016, White heard through the grapevine that the car was for sale.

“We got on the phone and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’d love to own the car.’ [The seller] had small children, so there was foam rubber in the trunk, that he kept on the side of the car, so his kids’ bicycles wouldn’t dent it. And he said, ‘Do you want that?’ I said, ‘I want everything.’”

And everything is what White got. This car is a reference point for E30 M3s. It’s not over-restored or show-quality, but an honest, low-mile example of the model as it left the factory. The paint still shows the imperfections that were present when the car came off the line. And even though White feels trepidation about driving this M3, he still enjoys taking the car out. 

“The word refreshing comes to mind,” he says. “It brings back the memories of driving in my original E30 M3, back in ’88, ’89, ’90. It makes me feel younger.”