THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE

Which elements of different M cars through the ages would you combine to create the greatest one there's never been? Matt Prior and James Disdale have their say

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BMW's M division has made some fabulous cars over the past half-century. But how would you define or create the perfect one? Two of our resident gear heads, who have driven most of them and coveted yet more, took six of the best out on the road and then sat down together with a notebook and a kettle. Here's what they came up with...

MATT PRIOR Well, you've driven a few and I've driven a few, and the dream M is basically the M1, right?

JAMES DISDALE It's a good start, isn't it? In many ways, it's nothing like those that followed it, what with it being partly designed in Italy and having its engine in the middle. But that engine is very M, and there's a purity to its purpose that started a strand running through all of them.

MP I too am sold on the engine. But you're right, what with the engine where it is, it does miss out on the thing that defines so many M cars: their being incredibly usable.

JD Exactly. The M1 is many things, but usable it isn't. That's partly down to its age, which has left it with an awkward driving position - it has been a long time since I've driven a car with pedals that were so offset- and scatter gun ergonomics. Having said that, for what is essentially a mid-engined supercar, the visibility is excellent, while it really is compact, which makes it surprisingly easy to thread down the road. I definitely think we need those two qualities in our perfect M car.

MP Yup, agreed. That's what I also really like about the first M3, the E30. It has a ridiculous width, something less than 1.7 metres. But while it feels an old car these days, those qualities never quite leave it.