BMW M3 E46

The E46 was the first M3 to be launched during evo's lifetime, and its unique. unrepeatable character ensures it remains one of the very best

- JETHRO BOVINGDON

OF ALL THE ROADS IN ALL THE WORLD, THE Route Napoléon is the one that holds the very best memories for me. From 997 GT2 RS and Ferrari 458 Italia to Ford GT and Lamborghini Murciélago, the N85 has been the stage for some of the most unforgettable drives imaginable.

The finale to 2005's eCoty, held on this magical stretch in the south of France, was something of a classic and I can relive various experiences from it in my mind's eye any old time. The best moment? Watching the Gallardo SE's flame-spitting exhausts lighting up the rock faces as it sniped at the rear of an F430 should be right up there.

And it is. But I was in the wrong BMW. For whilst I greatly enjoyed the M6's outrageous V10 engine and sequential 'box in grenade mode, the killer BMW of '05 was the M3 CS. Even as the SE's squared-off tail was being licked by blue and yellow flames and its howling V10 drowned out the M6's, I was still thinking about a simple dash to pick up lunch in the CS a few hours earlier...

It was just one of those perfect drives. The road, sparse traffic and a car that seemed so poised and well balanced, so sharp and yet so smoothly controlled and with perhaps the optimal balance between power and grip. The big hitters - notably the Ford GT - had already overwhelmed the CS in some respects and I knew it couldn't win, but at that moment BMW's newest M3 seemed just about faultless. Except the brakes. Always the crappy brakes with the M division cars of this era.

So, it's with some trepidation that I approach James Mills's lovely M3 from 2003. Even noting the connoisseur's choice of 18-inch wheels, it seems hard to imagine that a standard M3 could hope to match up to my dappled sunshine-covered recollections. I've driven CSLs since that day in '05 several times, a few CSs, too.