German niche strategies in comparison
09/23/2024
BMW built 786 open-top M3 E30s between 1988 and 1990, while Porsche only produced 528 examples of the 944 Turbo Cabriolet. Both model variants were clearly overshadowed commercially by their closed brothers and they were quite expensive, almost DM 90,000 for the M3 Cabrio and the open 944 Turbo.
There are many parallels between the two cars. Both have a water-cooled four-cylinder engine under the front hood. Both are the top production models in their series and both benefited from the ample modular system, which made it possible to produce even small numbers of a "special model" at a reasonable cost.
And today, the M3 Cabriolet costs at least twice as much as the Porsche 944 Turbo Cabriolet, even though the Porsche puts the BMW in the shade in terms of performance and is even rarer.
You rarely have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of such rare cars within a few days. We were all the more enthusiastic about it.
So what about the driving experience? Both offer it, but in different ways. The Porsche is a sports car at heart. You sit low but still have a good view of the road (to the front). Folding headlights and turbochargers were still exotic and desirable at the beginning of the nineties, and still are today. The driving performance is top, but the engine needs revs to deliver its full power.
Even as a convertible, the BMW M3 shows its origins as a touring car. You sit upright and higher, but you can also take three other people with you, which would be a compromise in a Porsche. Nevertheless, the open-top M3 is not lacking in propulsion and is in its element when cornering. In terms of engine sound, however, it loses out to the 944. On the hairpin bends, on the other hand, it will hardly be left behind.
So you can get excited about both without having to bend over backwards. In most cases, personal preference for one brand or the other is the deciding factor. And of course your wallet.
It's great that they were both built and are still around today!
P.S. A more detailed report on the Porsche 944 Turbo Cabriolet will follow, we have already published the driving report on the M3 Cabriolet .
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