These BMW M3s Are a Dream Near the Ocean or Climbing Mountains
Owner and photographer: Manuel Ferri
Year, Make, and Model: 1989 BMW M3 Convertible and ’89 M3 Cecotto Edition
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Like many people, Mr. Manuel Ferri couldn’t afford his dream car when he first saw it, the BMW E30 M3. But he promised himself then, in 1986, that in the not-too-distant future, he’d have one for the rest of his life. Well, he began looking in the early ’90s but after a lack of success locally, Manuel decided to expand the search from the Canary Islands to Germany. He and his wife packed their bags and went looking, eventually finding this Cecotto edition M3 in Dusseldorf after checking out a couple other examples.
Once the transfer documents were signed and the car fueled up, Manuel and his wife hit the road back to Spain. They cut south through Bavaria, Switzerland, the French Alps then on to the Spanish Pyrenees eventually winding up in Cadiz on Spain’s sunny southern coast. Finally, they and the Cecotto boarded a ferry to the Canary Islands.
As much as he loves the car, Manuel says, “neither my wife nor I will ever forget that trip, it was like a second honeymoon.” But romantic memories aside, Manuel is proud to own the street version of a highly regarded and winning race car full of charisma. He loves the way the car communicates feedback to the driver and the relatively high-revving S14 engine; additionally, the car’s manners on twisty roads make you want to keep pushing. In Manuel’s words, the car is “simply fantastic.”
His passion for BMWs is shared by the whole family and his sons each have BMW e21 3-series’. But Manuel’s love for Bavarian rockets isn’t limited to his M3 Cecotto. More recently he came across this e30 M3 convertible and although it needed to be completely reupholstered, he jumped at the chance to buy the droptop as the weather in the Canarys is so mild, year-round. Like it’s Cecotto brother, the droptop loves twisty roads whether along the coast or climbing Spain’s highest peak, Mt. Teide (over 12,000ft, 3700m). Lowering the top of this M3 and enjoying the salty sea air or cold mountain breezes and radiant sun is something that Manuel can’t get enough of. Other people love it too and Manuel says that frequently when he pulls over to take a couple of photos, others do too. It’s not hard to understand why.
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