Quote:
Originally Posted by ASAP
Very few people today actually want anything remotely to what would be considered a raw car... most people daily drive their cars to and back from work and the lack of comfort / noise with a raw car simply doesn't work for most. Having personally owned 3 relatively raw cars, I don't think I could ever go back after I bought a more stable DD. Raw cars are ok if you don't daily drive them...
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Yeah, somewhere along the line this thread became a dick-swinging competition about who could come up with the most "raw" experience on 4 wheels. OP was bemoaning the detachment (note, not the comfort) of a modern 3 series and how that's getting worse with turbochargers.
I don't think that was an unreasonable observation. I still miss the immediate pull my X5 4.8is had compared with a FBO N54 Twin Turbo; but it was a lounge chair on four wheels when it came to ride comfort and 'attachment to the road'.
This thread was "won" long ago, with the suggestion of an Ariel Atom - or a Caterham 620r with straight-cut gears and a button-clutch.
Driving a true "Raw" car for a few hours on the road is exactly the sort of thing that would make you long for a brand new M3, M5 or AMG.
Honestly, I think OP's goals are difficult to find in a BMW. BMW N/A engines need to be wound up to get good power, thanks to their low displacement - one of the most common praises of the 135i vs a E46 or E92 M3 is the instant torque you get out of the N54 compared to having to ring it out to 8k RPM the way you do in the 3.2L I6 or 4.4L V8. Though, OP mentioned he had a supercharger, I'd expect the 4.4L V8 with a Harrop attached would be as good as any modern N/A V8. - so I dare say, if you're not happy with a E92 M3 + Harrop ... short of dropping a S55 into a 1M (or even better, a Z4M) - I don't think you're going to find something in the BMW range that ticks all the boxes.
I've never driven a E92 M3 with a Harrop, but I've driven a C63 Black, and while it has all the comfort of a heated lounge chair on 4 wheels; there's never any mistake where the wheels are pointed or how it's positioned on the road. For a $150k+ luxury car, they are extremely "raw" and communicative. My only criticism is the same as my little E88 - you get to the point where there's no denying the fact that you're pushing around a 3650lb behemoth (and with the C63, it's wide track means you've got half the road-space to play with than you do in a E8x).
To most people "raw" means less refined. It means smaller. It means lighter.
So, it's (limiting yourself to brand new cars) it's going to be a continuum BMW/Mercedes at the start, Porsche in the middle, then Lotus, Caterham, Ariel and motorbikes at the 'raw end of the scale'.