---
title: "BMW’s M Turns 50 This Month. What’s Your Favorite M Car?"
description: "Are you Team E46 M3 or Team E39 M5?"
date: "2022-05-25"
modified: "2022-05-25"
authors:
  - name: "Chris Tsui"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/chris-tsui"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/bmws-m-turns-50-this-month-whats-your-favorite-m-car"
categories:
  - "BMW News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "BMW"
  - "Question Of The Day"
---

# BMW’s M Turns 50 This Month. What’s Your Favorite M Car?

![The front end of a Frozen Deep Green Metallic BMW M5 CS.](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/25/M5CS_CT3_1460.jpg>)
*BMW*

This month marks BMW's high-performance [M division](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/bmw-xm-prototype-review-the-hybrid-future-of-m-is-so-so-good>) 50th birthday. If that sounds older than it should be that's probably because the first actual M-badged car, the M1, only came on the scene in 1978, well after the subdivision's founding in May 1972.

Regardless, the company is marking the occasion with a 50 Jahre Edition of the current M3, which will be hard to find, so we thought it would be more interesting and relevant to ask our readers: What's your favorite BMW M car of all time? Surely, fan favorites like the E46 M3 and E39 M5 should be in the running but perhaps you've got a soft spot for less boxy, lower-slung M cars like the mid-engined M1 supercar or one of the Z-badged M Coupes or Roadsters? It's hard to argue against a good clown shoe and, in case you missed it, [here's a fantastic piece from our own Mike Spinelli on how those cars, against all odds, came about](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-bmw-m-coupe-happened-against-the-odds-we-need-more-of-that-now>). Or perhaps you are one of those odd ducks who can't get enough of the coupe SUV M's such as the X6 and X4 M Competitions.

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/25/50_Jahre_M3_pair_1.jpg>)
*BMW*

I know it's generally accepted wisdom that the best BMWs are often old BMWs—on design alone, the often-overlooked E36 M3 is a personal favorite of mine—but I still can't get over [how good the new M5 CS is](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/42576/2022-bmw-m5-cs-review-just-what-the-real-m-fans-ordered>). The [M2 CS isn't bad either](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/42161/2020-bmw-m2-cs-review-bmws-best-modern-car-is-still-incredible>), I've heard.

But how about you? What's your all-time favorite go-fast BMW? And, please, nobody say Supra. The joke is dead.

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com*

## Author
Chris Tsui is *The Drive*'s former Reviews Editor and current freelance automotive journalist. He's based in Toronto.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/cltsuii/>)