BMW M-Series and Performance Specials (Sports Car Color History) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It must be readily evident to almost anyone who has lived in a place where there are cars, that the role of the automobile has..." (more)
Key Phrases: While Alpina, South Africa, Sport Evolution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Bimmerphiles rejoice! At last, the book youve been waiting for. Jonathan Cohen fully examines the history and development of these exhilarating performance cars beginning in the late 1960s on up to the present.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (December 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760301719
• ISBN-13: 978-0760301715
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #933,335 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great book for BMW, Alpina, and Schnitzer background info, November 12, 1999

By	Adam Wilson (La Grange Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This is a very good book. Goes into great detail on BMW's history of performance special cars, how this came about, and where Alpina and Schnitzer and even Hartge fit into this. However, there is clearly a slant towards Alpina. The author does state however that Alpina has more of an "in" with BMW than the other tuners and therefore is a bit more respected. There is great detail on engine specs, displacement, special models, and even production numbers for each model. He details the evolution of the 2002, then goes through the 3, 5, 6, and 8 series. There is a section on the M1 also. Whenever possible, the author seems to mention whether any of a certain type of car were ever imported into the U.S. or not. He includes a description of the U.S. grey market in the 80s in the beginning of the book. The pictures in the book are fantastic and almost all are in full color. This book is worth every penny of the meager asking price. Thumbs up!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but thin, July 19, 1999

By	John Rosevear (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

J. Cohen's writing is several cuts above the usual hack quality found in car books. Alas, he is awfully focused on Alpina, Hartge, etc., and skimps on info on the M models that are presumably the subject of the book! More detail on what, for instance, makes an E34 M5 different and special, or what are all the mods made to the E30 M3 that make it such a big deal, and how did it do in racing? None of this is addressed; rather, he spills a lot of ink on detailing every nuance of every Alpina product made in the last 30 years. If he wanted to write a history of Alpina, that's fine, but the cover, title, and description of the book leads one to believe that its principal focus is M and the products thereof.

Nonetheless, the book is still several cuts above MBI's usually atrocious quality standards, and makes for an interesting evening of reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative book, October 13, 1998

By	[e-mail] "Gustav" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This is the best book about performance BMW I have come across. It features history, facts and pictures about M1, M3, M5, M635 CSi, M6 and 850 CSi.

What suprised me the most was the in depth information and nice pics about Alpina, featuring the B10 BiTurbo, B12, B8 4,6 (3 series with 333 HP V8) and early B7 Turbo models.

Info about ALL Alpina models and M models! Also mentioning some Hartge models, AC Schnitzer CLS II and CLS III.

As I said earlier, the definite book regarding M models, Alpina and other top-notch tuners.