Over the years, tweaks to the BMW’s chassis and drivetrain calibration helped, but it wasn’t until the M3 Competition version arrived that the F80 M3’s potential was finally realised.

The station wagon you’re looking at started out life ... it has the same S55 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder as the F80-generation M3, complete with an original ECU and wiring harness.

From the fine-handling E30 original to the sensational V8-powered E90, there wasn’t a generation of M3 that didn’t hit the spot. And then along came this, the no-E-numbers-please F80.