A standard E92 M3 is no slouch. Its 414-horsepower V8 and playful chassis make it a drifter’s dream. It’s also quite predictable and easy to lean on, and with a few footwork modifications to ensure enough braking power to consistently slow the 3,600-pound sedan over the course of a session, you’ll have a truly enjoyable, analog, even-fun-at-slow-speeds track toy.
Andy Boskovic, also known as DRIVER46, couldn’t live with a stock M3. He fitted his car with with BC coilovers, a Becker exhaust, Hotchkis sway bars, and aggressive Hawk DTC 60 brake pads for that extra bit of bite and reassurance on track. The rear end is a little too stiff for great traction off most of Auto Club Speedway’s slower corners, but it doesn’t seem to slow Andy’s progress much.
Not only does he seem to enjoy sliding the car around like Tsuchiya, but he’s able to pass most everyone without problems. After passing a cautiously driven McLaren 720S around the banking (2:12) at 120 miles per hour, it seems like that supercar would be jst another feather in his cap that day. However, it’s one of the few that can put up a fight.
It’s that sleek supercar which manages to loom in his mirrors for more than a few corners through the technical infield, but it’s not cornering speeds that helps it most. A short straight is all the 720S needs to show it’s in another league completely (3:14)—in terms of acceleration, anyways.
When the two roll onto the roval’s banking, there’s really no contest from 60-120 miles per hour. While a braver driver in the McLaren would streak away along the banking, the price paid for looping a supercar at those speeds deters most sensible drivers.
If this duel proves anything, it’s that old racing adage of “track only what you can write off.”