Two Icons Reborn: Identical Twin of classically restored BMW E36 Coupés.
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The BMW E36 3-Series Coupé has long been a darling of enthusiasts — a perfect balance of analog driving feel, iconic '90s design, and a chassis that begs to be pushed. But when you take two of these classics and restore them with a twist — one with an S50B30 and the other with the more modern S54B32 — you get a clash of legends that car lovers dream about.
Both vehicles began life as standard E36 3-Series Coupes, rescued from the brink of irrelevance through painstaking restorations. But the heart of the build lies under the hood.
The Red Hellrot E36 Coupé
The first car stays true to its era. Under the hood sits the S50B30, the 3.0-liter inline-six engine from the European-spec E36 M3. Producing 286 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque, it revs freely to 7,200 RPM and delivers a raw, connected experience. It’s driven by the original 5-speed manual gearbox, which gives the full control of clutch & manual shifts, as any enthusiasts would prefer to newer transmissions.
The S50B30 is the last of the true mechanical M engines — no drive-by-wire, no variable valve timing trickery. It's old-school BMW engineering at its purest. Linear power delivery, raspy tone, and a precise throttle response make it a joy on winding roads. It’s a time machine to the mid-’90s M driving experience. Helping it “breathe” better and adding that little extra power increase, an AFE intake was added, and another part that would add on to make it sound better, a full-system Super Sprint exhaust system, enhances the inline-six “howl” and being heard when it passes by the “mamak” shop you’re hanging out at.
Equipped with some Bilstein PSS10 adjustable suspension, it sits lower to the ground, giving that stunning wheel-gap fitment, complimented with the classic “all-time” favourite, 17-inches 8jj width BBS LM089 wheels, and an offset of ET40, but the trick is that the two-piece rims, the barrels are reversed, giving it a sweeter “deep-dish” look. A perfect fitting to the car’s overall fitment.
Wrapped around the BBS wheels are some all-rounder GoodYear Eagle F1 tyres in 235/50 sizing. We approve of the overall setup, and as any car enthusiasts would put it: “the wheels & tyres setup are the most crucial part in making the overall car looks superb”. Not forgetting the hidden four-pot Wilwood brake callipers & discs at the front. Peep between the spokes and you’ll see that it’s not only adding more stopping power to this car, but it is aesthetically pleasing and completes the wheel & brake set-up.
We would approve of the colour choice & the M3-bodykit that includes front bumpers with the BMW-engraved piece on the black trim panel, side skirts, rear bumper & a spoiler mounted on the boot, with height-extenders to make it look more sportier. Altogether, it completes the whole look.
It’s sprayed in a striking red colour named “Hellrot 2”, a specific shade that is significant to the classic BMW range of colours. Translated, it means “Bright Red”, formulated to offer improved colourfastness, durability & UV resistance. With no metallic or pearl effects, it’s a very solid colour and highly saturated. You won’t miss it if you see this car on the road, whether it’s in the daylight or illuminated by the street lights at night. And when you see it passes you (and it definitely would), you’ll see the rare “Albino” clear tail lamps. A rare piece, especially for the coupé body, where the tail lamps are noticeably wider than the sedan ones.
The interior of a classic car, is where you can see that the owner would go “the extra mile” to make it whole. All of the panels (doors, center armrests, dash, and side panels) are re-trimmed in black, soft Nappa leather, and a touch of “retro-mod” refresh of inserts of the seats in a beautiful shade of colours & a pattern named “M Rain”. It’s refurbished and integrated into the period-correct Recaro SR3 semi-bucket seats, to give some body-hugging grip of the driver & passenger when the car is thrown into a corner at a (slightly.. sshh) higher speed.
The owner would look straight ahead, looking at the Momo Prototype “Black Edition” steering wheel, gripping the M-tech 5-speed gear knob, and lined with the M-Rain gear lever fabric cover into the center tunnel console. A beautiful touch of detail, may we add. Looking down at the center part of the dash, you’ll also see the classic VDO classic auxiliary gauges (water temperature, oil pressure & volt gauge) in a row of three, fitted so nicely, that you would think it comes as standard with the car, but it’s an aftermarket piece, installed under the on-board digital OBD display.
Not one piece of the interior feels out of place, and no cracks or panels missing. It goes to show that it took not just money, but something more valuable than that - time, and patience, to make the cockpit as original as possible, ensuring the people sitting inside, a factory-level of authenticity and comfort.
So shall we move onto the softer version 1 of the Dakar Yellow coloured twin?
The second car takes a more radical approach: it’s fitted with the S54B32, the revered engine from the E46 M3. With 343 horsepower, 365 Nm of torque, and a redline of 8,000 RPM, it turns the E36 into a silent and true weapon, yet maintaining the rather “innocent” appearance. Mated to the original 6-speed manual gearbox, and comparing to the 5-speed in the Hellrot, the owner says the 6-speed is nicer to cruise around, due to the shorter ratios which gives better accelerations & a longer final-drive to chill-driving on highway roads. However, open the hood and you’ll see a set-up that is very pleasing to our “automotive-oriented” eyes.
Lift the hood, and the immaculately clean matte-finished black colour engine bay compliments the big engine 3.2-liter six-cylinder engine block. The S54 is often considered the last great naturally aspirated BMW straight-six, featuring the VANOS system (a BMW version of the variable valve timing system) to improve the acceleration punch and a “second stage” of kick to your physical body sitting in the seat, kicking you deeper into the seats.
Individual throttle bodies gives the induction power (and sound, can’t forget that) and power delivery comes in, everywhere in the rev range, a SPECTRE aggressive open-air intake growl dominates one side of the engine bay, and faster overall performance — it gives the E36 a more modern and muscular personality. Oh, we mustn’t forget the sound enhancement; an Eisenmenn exhaust system, playing a soft idle tone, but amplifying the scream of the S54
While the red E36 gives a more striking road & parking lot presence, this yellow one has a more period-correct historic colour: the 1st version Dakar Yellow. It is known as one of the most iconic & rare BMW paint colours from the 90’s era, and it holds a very significant historical & cultural value in the brand’s enthusiast community. Both builds retain the clean lines of the original E36, but each is very personalised.
This E36 has the same exterior bits to the red one, but with some minor differences. It’s not obvious enough to the naked eye, but if you can, you might spot the subtle staggered front & rear wheel offset. The front is 17-inch by 8jj wheel, whereas the rear is a 9jj set-up. It’s more fitting to the BMW rear-wheel drive layout, where the rear wheels need the extra grip in the back. And the PS4 tyres from Michelin does do the job better, with 225 tyres at the front and the wider rear 255 tyres providing better rear traction off the line and round the bends.
While the red one has Wilwood, the yellow one has mini four-pot Brembo brakes at the front and two-pot at the rear. With the extra power from the massive engine, the upgraded brakes would be adequate.
Remember when we say that these two are very identical to each other? We would have some trouble differentiating between the two, if it weren’t for the exterior colour. Because the interior is albeit, minor differences compared to the other.
The Dakar Yellow coupé has the same pristine restoration done on the inside as well, however some differences would be up to each owner’s preferences. Note that the yellow one has Recaro semi-bucket seats, but a more modern design of the SR4s. It is still a more older bucket seat look, but it looks so “at home” in the cockpit. Would you agree?
But the interior had the same restoration patterns to the other “twin”, as this yellow one also had an extensive leather rewrapped door panels & center armrests, and so did the seats, but with an M-Tech fabric that still looks similar to the “M-Rain” pattern. You’ll see the same VDO analog gauges as well, in the same place by the center of the dash. If we were blindfolded and being placed in either car without the knowledge of which is which, chances are, we would have guessed incorrectly.
Verdict: Which One Wins?
Honestly, between the two, it’s not about winning — it’s about flavor, it’s about each individual’s preferences. The S50-equipped Hellrot E36 is for purists who crave mechanical precision and a true ‘90s motorsport feel. The rampaging S54-powered Dakar Yellow E36, on the other hand, is a restomod’s dream — a classic shell, with modern muscle, but retaining the originality as close to factory form.
We at TheNext, would ask every one of our similar “car enthusiast” species: “What’s Next?”
For the owners of these two immaculate examples of the E36 coupé platform, the base and the concept has been achieved, and achieved well. Only minor touch-ups here and there, some small defects that we wouldn’t want to highlight as it is insignificant to show, that the owners have created two “near-perfect” E36 M3 coupés.
We might just invite them over to a random “lepak” at DASH highway, but that’s for you to look forward to… our NEXT feature, perhaps.
Thank you for reading our very first feature. More to come soon!
Down below are some extra sweet rollers. Enjoy!
By the way.. a friend of ours took the liberty to bring out an E46 M3. Shall we do a feature on that car NEXT?
