How to know 100% if a BMW is a M series?

harrykane

So, a while back (like, 6 years ago), I went to a trackday with a cousin of mine, who raced in an BMW E30. All in all, it was a fun day, with lots of cool cars driving around. But that's not relevant.

What is relevant, is that someone drove past us in another BMW e30 series, that had an M badge on it. I was mildly impressed, because I knew M series cars to be generally, well, better.
My cousin, however, scoffed, and claimed it was fake. Confused, I asked how he knew. According to him, the one sure way to recognize if an e30 series is actually from the M line, if by looking at the wheel arches. On the M series, they are flared, whereas with normal e30's, they, well, aren't.
Years later, I still think back to that every time I see a BMW drive by with an M badge on the back, and I use it to judge the car. Sometimes I see a car with a badge, but then the rest of the car looks and sounds like a regular 3 series or 5 series BMW.

Single exhaust.
No vents on the side of the car.
A 325 badge next to the little colored "M"
Driven by a guy who looks like he would put a fake M badge on his car (ok, this one is a bit subjective).

These things make me say "That's not a real M series!", but lately I have seen some BMW's drive past that have these things as well, but not all of them. For example, today I drove past a BMW, with a M badge, but with single exhaust, a 325. These cars make me doubt my own rules about what is and what isn't a M series.
So, what is a surefire way to know if a BMW is a real, legit M series (without looking at the papers, of course)?

kyfdx

harrykane said:

So, a while back (like, 6 years ago), I went to a trackday with a cousin of mine, who raced in an BMW E30. All in all, it was a fun day, with lots of cool cars driving around. But that's not relevant.

What is relevant, is that someone drove past us in another BMW e30 series, that had an M badge on it. I was mildly impressed, because I knew M series cars to be generally, well, better.
My cousin, however, scoffed, and claimed it was fake. Confused, I asked how he knew. According to him, the one sure way to recognize if an e30 series is actually from the M line, if by looking at the wheel arches. On the M series, they are flared, whereas with normal e30's, they, well, aren't.
Years later, I still think back to that every time I see a BMW drive by with an M badge on the back, and I use it to judge the car. Sometimes I see a car with a badge, but then the rest of the car looks and sounds like a regular 3 series or 5 series BMW.

Single exhaust.
No vents on the side of the car.
A 325 badge next to the little colored "M"
Driven by a guy who looks like he would put a fake M badge on his car (ok, this one is a bit subjective).

These things make me say "That's not a real M series!", but lately I have seen some BMW's drive past that have these things as well, but not all of them. For example, today I drove past a BMW, with a M badge, but with single exhaust, a 325. These cars make me doubt my own rules about what is and what isn't a M series.
So, what is a surefire way to know if a BMW is a real, legit M series (without looking at the papers, of course)?

BMW puts M badges on a lot of cars, now. They call them M-Sport editions.

If you know the particular model, there are plenty of cues as to which is a real M car. Mostly, look for the number of exhaust pipes.