To celebrate the success of factory driver Johnny Cecotto in the World Touring Car Championship, BMW built a special edition of the M3 E30 named after him.
The Johnny Cecotto Edition came with a few exterior and interior upgrades and, like all E30 M3s, a brilliant chassis.
This is an early, pre-Evolution model that is powered by a 2.3-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder pushing out 215 horsepower. By today’s standards, that’s less than what one gets in compact hot hatches. However, when the M3 Cecotto came out 30 years ago, it offered more than sufficient punch.
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BMW only made 505 units of the M3 Johnny Cecotto, none of which was officially imported to North America. All of them came in left-hand drive, and the company made sure that Britain doesn’t miss out on this jewel. So, they also made 25 units of the E30 M3 Roberto Ravaglia Edition, which is the same car, but in RHD and named after the DTM and WTCC champion.
MrJWW, whom you may remember from putting all sorts of cars to the test, got the chance to drive this limited edition model. And since it’s pretty much impossible to say no to checking out such a ride first hand, he took it out on a narrow road, where its clever engineering came to life.
The reviewer talked about some of the small things that make it special, such as the pedals placement for heel-toe, beautiful sound for a four-cylinder lump and optional bison leather seats and illuminated gear knob. But most importantly, he gave his feedback in what it’s like to push it a bit, which is what we’re interested in.