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N4OTORSPOBT
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The135iCoupd
isanexpensive
laugh
riot,butwitha fewsubtle
tweaks
could
it really
bea matchfof theexplosive
N43?
NickHallhilsthetracktotindout.
SteveHaI
fl-l
lt .r.
,t,
,1i
n ämy of engin€€rsd€scerdon
the.e as j1 hils llre tils ind
r]{. pr.ssrrcs r.nlp.f am.cs
ad seLlnlgsare scNlnrised.
nrarkcdand dis.uss..L.(h a
DTM resrdar lhrl Nould Le fin€. brl on !
dcs.(cd anfi.lrl withiu$rnm.d Ilul lil5i
tb. .onrlary ir s-"emeda little e( essive
Especialr-whcn H€r'b€i Hr.lge cdls the.af
artqeüs ranag"'d
tosliip21lokg
iromthe rterorrlrisl outsde
te srr'nlt s LitJnaieyorcror
a.stlrctos
thanfunciion
TheM3 is the sharp-cutbusiness
suitcomparedto the baggy
jeansand baseballcap
thatis the 135i
.
..'
.'':
oa*ao*ro,uaa
,t*
lr hasbecnr salesflop so 1d, il!jusl too
erpensiveIu r basenrodel.nd itl! nol ll'c
worl.l.s besl lookhg cd €iihef. Dlnanieil},
rt lersl th€ boxy coup6lrd b.c. \cll
rcc.iFd nd hailcdas rh. spintrEtsuc..ssor
to th.19r_0s2002Ti,but it conl.l alsobe s€er
as dre nalu2l ewlulior ol ic lrsl \{il.
C.mDaFdlo th..ompcti on tion
Nlercerl€sard Atrdi the \'8 stil n €s dre roosl
on tir.k, iust,bnr rlris is srill a crr rlrat has
losrjust ato(h oI ul youlhful exuLefan.e
o!.r thc lasl t$. d.cad.s Whil starr.d as a
h.m.logarion qre.ial md haslong beenthe
benchmarklof fNl saloons,is getlirgbigger
üd falrd rilh cachpüsingg.n.dnm. an.l
ul ral.ly bc.one a csh corv: a strins
symbollor young.thfustingexe.r,ü.s
Irxl rhar .ares c€Itain demands, lili€
nolorlvar refine'nenl dld t lururious
intciof ^ll th.lroß.pow.f in rh. ivo.l.l,
lvhi.h BMW hß thrown ar tle l esr
g€n€runonNll, cannolconUrcnsar.ror die
added gi{h, rveielrr aü loss of spofinrg
tbcus. lUs 1ln!tr longer, 78nnn wider ?urd
9n!trtallefrlran the outgoingL.l6,whiclr to
my cv.. is tlre ledectrJ proportior€dcu.
TItr' l:lii is 250nnn shofef Dd tl)ninr
slimnro r,lidrd'e llil, a much (loser är lbr
rhe D46th.n, rfd un€ncrünb.m.lb! th€
lveighlof €r?.darior Pak€dn-"x orlre
[]Ll il l.oks likearo! !.rthose tubos o.
lhe in-lnr si: rrc a gaping irltrtior
lor a
hming .ompanl lili. flatge lhat strdd.rly
saw trre big hrclher N a targcr
So thats shy iv. tbund ouseh€s ar
Chmrb.rlcy test tmcli n.af n.lz nr Fmncc.
A stmdai l\'Mrad jonr€d trs tbr the drrl
He,ber1Hrtge, who Nad€ his name
trasplanl[g oreßiz..l.ngines ir o small.r
BM$rssincc rhc .oneuy's inceptionir
1971,{'a lelt lo chas. rirr.s onlis o$n
tulun.l ou ci..uil He had mt€nd.d l,o go
nrtln.i: though Wc had . Fomula Onc
üi!e. bookedn\ burhe l.r nsdo\r\" sa
Herl,€n. 'So I\r gonrgb dnlc b.rlr ctus d
Idtrs I.rn, dd ol.oursc youlan to. "
Ir*as ha liryiru inr oil the tu(k.
wlren h€ d.ed ol t sürg BM$IS hc srlil.hed
to conDaring lhe 550b\r (lr sson C63 üai
join€d us $irh rhcsiock Blll!: Ont of
int.rcsl rh! BM\y rvon,bul hv lh€nhetl
pushedir so hard Llüi üe
ilr.s {ere don€ axl h.tl also pfcss.d his
own liJ5isolighthehad ro go outagain. .
$hen I got on lracl, tusr. r. tlic
bencllnrar'k.
ihe \IlJUll ilial n€ref..as.s lo
amue in tts own way I lrish lhrl rnnolingl
moro sedbutler wonldn'(lHrdnc rh.
seätbelr sith thal cheap. ptastic .hs,. Bnr I
guessüre moden daydnver.irlslisnil
prcDar.ilto reachad gr.l, Llrsearb.tt No,
that som.nos rvouldnl do
Once thatlr ov.r, though, the Mil prorides
.onstmr renMders olj"st lrow goodt is.
comlortalrle md {liNd
sqtrashcsth€
bnmps, yet pldt the tirrcllle and it concs
aliye. Tne V8 is tour nldrs or the U5!
ahrigl{r V10ard cones $irh rh. sanre
bedplrtc design,indiridual Lurt€dres and
high-.eqnng Delfomar.
11hlaLs thrcngr
lil)mphnL4 6secondsand {ell beyondrtre
suplosed li5mll limtef
Y.l for i its cl.rcr h icks rhc Vfi is
!€.haps roo i!ftred, roo.lcgdlj md rr la.ks
llrl ,uzzing chainsa$. norc ol rhc old intin.
six Natural6tiEtior rt l€dt k..psthe
polver dclivery ]nreu, brt ro kick rhe back
out ithelpsto chrngc dorvntuül nuke lhe
nosr of the hoßeporv.r lrigl
thc unge d
torque is thnr on ie gnnd
!r can be pitch€dintob€rds rvetlin
adrmcc, thongh,rDd dren h.Id in an ac.ü,
smota trail at
witl It! ä biisstirl*ay to lrasl. . day:nd a
hghly cxpensil€s.r ol trres, D.lit!lHdro
pi.k fa t*ith aca.riar irelcütes rhis
hard and Loaß har.denonghro tt.(€ thc
vnrd m this dcsolat€r.srvenue.
lrs r lcstuncrr to BII\! lnat ..
likc
l,h'scan hav.lhe gade.lss$it(hed.tf ftunr
thc irsl nomcnl. th! .hßsis li.s ttE brlance
ro.any ofisucn nonchrlan.c.t)r vnrgt
$itlonr r clue, sidr w^! too rnuct speerl inro
a hcrd, rcsultsin sJc, pr.ss.r undۧrc.r:
And Fl it!norp.f.ct. Ttref..s, sool\,
fcel lo Lhesrc.firg dur m.rns ir doesnt
qnir.lrite into th.lrcnd dld.anlrke three
altemptstogelnrbthe ap.: And rvhiteit!
lin 10send rhc car sliding side\LrLys,and
in.rcdiblr esy drning it hard afd snroorlr
isn't quir. so sinpl-"thants Lothe 1655kg
k.ü lvcigllt thar d.rgs thos..r.r willing
despit-"th. .arbon ibF rool rd tilQish
frnNnrgunderrhf sknr to k..D üre
Illel..s ore niorc.lisaslrc{s eltc.r. loo.
On thc presslannchthe.rrs r.r! €quippcd
sillr rorghefncnrg Dansfor lh. tuck
work Alt.r riveiaps ofrhc 1.5kn (0.!t mite)
tm.k l[rdly a tlat-o{t assrull of lhe
Nurl,u|gnng sn'ot€ porr.d üomlhclcft
rca and rh€lcdal sank clos.flo tle
L,ulkhcadsidr eachprssinglonr.rl
Iti a Fma*ably conrFsrd rar.,pabte ot
It feelsso muchdirtierthanthe M3 from
the off that you can see the appeal
.,. .-,-::l..:-,_
\.
6tonishing superca feats, in sholt, $rll contolled
bu.sts. But itl one ol thosc apex p.edaro6 eith a
small vindow of opportuity to rea]1y*?loit thal
power ll feels the etrecrs or the exe{ion md simply
isn t a rFck cd arrymore. But having saoinced that
r&or's edge the M3 116 grown into on€ of rhe nnesr
all rcud sports cm money can bW. The sales
fi8ues say thaus a good t ade.o1f,whatever the
Hartgc weted d altemative t this mor€ matue
II3, nöt a clone, md lhese Lwo couldn t be mo.c
diffefcnL The Ml is ttre sha4-cut busin€ss suir
compaed to the baggy jeüs md bmcbail cap that
is the 135i. Ol cou.sc with a p.ic€ tag of Duo
68,068hhging neavüy round its neck, this
, Lldrgc is jst 6 er?ۧive tr rh. M3 ftselr ed
h6 to be more tho good.
This car cones with seatbelt butleN, too,
of the hmm kind 6 I m st dpled into thc
mce sear by the helptul Uütge engine*
md ce take in the new intenor
The dash renahq heavib made-up by
H.rtgel design tem of course, but the red is
j6t gone. rhat w6 enoügh to save 200k9
appaen(X dd give the e.od]nmic
rweälG a
better chmce of having m ihprct Tnar img
toothed tront sllitto, side sl{fts, dd netu Le
MN propoftioned difiusd lmging off the rca
e, of coNe, more about the ßtherics ü4
1..
Fire it up ad the whol€ cd rockB gentv witlr
each blip, it feets so Nch ditier tha the Mg
from the otr thax you cm see the appeal.
Hdrge simply installed a new ECU to unledh
350bhp lrom rhe po$e4lmt J6t iming up
the wick on the tubo.iEgers {* all it
took, even the exhanst is shply a srainless
st cl .ed sil€nce. &d that gils the .a. low
dorvn grunt, 35,llb ft nr fäcr.
And tlut Sirs it a 1italiry, an edg€ ol th€
erveiole feel mder hdd acceleErion md
the nc.dic $'hips .ound frcm the 3000rym so
tat to the rc.line thit iß hdd lo kee! pace
$ ith the ges. The fact that it matchcd not
only üe M3, bür ,lso a tuned Mercedes C63
AMG dom üe sLräighl, speaks volumcs lbr
üc cd dd Ilarteet clainß ol 4.8 seconds to
62mph md a lop erd of lT4mph seem morc
the re6onablc given rhat conpay. But
while th. others glided dom the str.iglt
this cd bu.k€d like a rcd€o btrll,
Thä1'sdoM to suspension rhar siß 25mn
lo\rer thar the stmdffd .af on monumenlal
:0" Hartge Cl6sic wh.cls mapp€d ir 245,110
Michelin Pilot Slort Cu! lyres thä1sit on th€
oplionalerlr6list. Rut this bod.dine
racing nbber \16 perhaps a step too fd,
tre.ause wilh heat in lhc tlrs the ca.lrumy
hoppcd into cach bcnd, junping wide of tle
apex md tating €ach b€nd in a sLaccato
motion.11f€ltlilre a rickcv fairy:.ünd nde
6 the h{es repeat€rly gripped lhen losl Lhe
surface oncc again od the cd himng fte
bmp stops possibly didn't help. Ttrough
fte bends ii reqüired a higher gea than tlrc
M!, too, a! th. rurbos ti.lrhg in nid-bend
w6 a recipe for a spnr.
Th€ Mt could be genw coded out or linc
at will, but when Cup ttrs break urey realh
go in a lealtbeat and tlre cü äshtail.d its
way hopelessly ont of bends on the ffßt
flring laps. The saving grace {s the limited
slip di|l which is so advmccd tirc co can,
in thcory dnv€ on ice, but even that could
JusLa lrachon morc rravel md more
pro$essive rubbef cordd luve tuned iL
nrto a rough didond md a nuch more
chuclable cff even thm tne bigg€r M3.
Pesonalv, I d wd1 jusr rhe Euo 2000 Ecu
md rhc Pirclli qTes ro .ope wth rhe
increEed pedommce, which wonld create
a baby M3 for sensible nroney.
As ir s s tlE 1t5i in üis niSh state or rune
won ihe day by 0 9 seconds. \Utr a iresh ser
ol nbber Hatge $ d convnr.ed his Dttle
lyke had . Lwo se.old advmtage in the bag
od hc's takins it to the Niirbur8l-in8 lcrt to
ta.le parl in offfcial practic€ at a \,LN.ee.
Tnis wil give hin dre chan.e to Lenclrmtuk
ilre nnest sn]rercaF md likcly riräls vith
It'.sm asJnl lor ol aftrntion lbf d
uwmted cllnd, but then Eeüert liartge h6
develoled a soit spot for ilre lluclqr runt or
the litte. thar co slaughter the gromrD llll
withjust a few choice modifi.atiore. Th€
M3 mighrslill be the ulrinale ni iß.16s,
md it s sü[ the one I d drive home in. If the
icon hs snnply gol loo adranced ior your
budget or t6te ho\rwer theret m M3-lite
sailn|g in lhe dines al Harrge. The
urrvantcd child h6 at lln tbund a irom. a
pRcE e50,s30
PRTCE:
154,752,42
ENGINE: 3.0 llrrctdn'trbo (delmiled)uih HanqeEcUandbackbox
CHASSS: Hadgeiullyadj0stable
colldwß(35mmlowef)
TORO!E:295lbft
COMBNEDlrlPc 22Smpq
wEGFl1655kg
C O M BN E DM P G : 2 6 m p g
WEGfT:1455k9
i.
li :]
Thefact that it matchednot onlythe M3, but alsoa tuned
vorumes
C63AMGdownthe straight,speaKS