There is a popular saying here in Lebanon that leads to the following concept: too much is as significant as less! Well yes, too much care will lead to spoil, too much hesitation will lead to loss and too much power will lead to destruction and lack of control. We are born on the thought that we must not overdo anything; as if we are programmed not to bypass a certain level of performance. Is it an issue of trust?
Well no! It’s just how we are, we sometimes fear greatness. This logic arrived to the automotive industry effectively in
- Definition of sport!
the early 90’s where over-engineering became a threat; car manufacturers began to fear the consumer’s love and passion building up for their vehicles. You know that there where days where overdoing things were a theme of the automotive world where your car used to be your chaperon from the cradle to the grave?
BMW fleets abided this rule back in history; they made eternal revving monsters that never gave up, never surrendered to the history books. As if the BMW creatures were so humble that they refused to tag their names in the halls of fame! These adorable ladies ruled the tarmac as long as their drivers could find the keys and as long as they had petrol in there reservoirs.
Today we talk no exotic, no money. Today we shed light, according to fans demand on one of these humble ladies. A lady coded by E21, which drew a generation extending from 1975 till 1983. With this babe, this glorious homogeneous creature, designers overdid everything; it took too much care, too much hesitation and too much power for its volume. The results were a non-spoiled sweetheart, with a very high income to the company thus no loss, and absolute control when it comes to driving dynamics. Compared to its era, this car was a driver’s dream.
- Speed and Fury
To go more specific, I chose to discuss the 1982 323i! allow me to demonstrate: today’s darling has a 6 cylinders in-line petrol engine, with a accurate displacement of 2316 cm3 delivering 102 KW at 5300 RPM and a sensational 205 Nm of torque at 4000 RPM to the well known 5-speed manual gearbox. This car or better said this body, became very popular at its time and was a sign of a sporty active personality. And when it comes to speed fanatics in Lebanon we still see it rolling in some limited rally events and especially in speed tests or drift contests.
A couple of days ago, some friend of mine also a fan of Biser3a.com passed to me a list of modifications which he thinks will make the 323i give peak performance. He recommended fitting a 2.7 M Technic engine! Tuned along with a K&N cold air intake, with a limited slip differential, tuned pistons, fortified clutch, short shifts gearbox with a full Inox exhaust, not to mention racing brake pads and ventilated disks to stop the fury. And this guy went further; an Alpina full body kit to dress our seducing lady and 17’’ 225/235 wheels to lock it to the tarmac.
What I just presented was a glance on how loyal BMW lovers are to this model and how much they trust it. I am not saying they are right but the fact is that they have faith in the dynamics of this machine. So even in 2011 this model is not kept just because the user’s wife had died and he parked his car because he doesn’t want to leave home! This model is kept in garages and yards, in the hands of eternal childish users who never get bored from the magnificent burned rubber smell.
