It’s not often our ears are graced with the ferocious engine note of the E92 M3. The only road-going M3 with a husky V8 sitting behind the front axle, this hefty BMW isn’t a likely candidate for the abuse and specific demands of a hillclimb challenge. However, despite the BMW’s GT appeal, Frenchman Yannick Poinsignon decided to strip one and make it a monster on the backroads.

Poinsignon has raced hillclimbs for nearly twenty years—starting back in 1999 with his father’s Simca CG Turbo and eventually winning the French Hillclimb Championship’s Production Class in 2011 with it. Nimble and darty, the Simca is an example of a small, low-torque car that’s ready to rotate. Moving to an M3 was quite a difference then.

Even with massive rear slicks and that wing pressing them into the asphalt, it’s easy to unstick them with the V8’s torque.

Though the BMW uses a sequential gearbox, it’s a heavyweight production car that’s not for the faint of heart. With a V8 that revs to a scintillating 8,500 rpm and has more than 500 horsepower on tap, spinning the massive slicks housed under the widened fenders isn’t tough. The car appears to be very pointy; turning in quickly and carrying great speeds into the corner, while the rear dances around and rarely looks totally hooked up. That’s best demonstrated 0:26, where it loses traction in BMW-style; getting light over a crest. Thankfully, Poinsignon has the skill to make managing this bruiser look like a very brisk walk in the park.

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