There are homologation cars, and then there are homologation cars. Aston’s DBR9 might have two Le Mans class wins to its name, but the luxurious road cars are hopelessly neutered by comparison.

When BMW first introduced the M3 in 1986, it was the answer to the 190E 2.3-16V from Mercedes-Benz.The E30 (BMW's chassis code for the 2nd Generation 3-Series) M3 was a homologation special for ...