2008 BMW M3 Convertible review

Insert the key, press the starter, the engine quickly cranks and then grumbles into life. At idle, there’s deep bassy thump, a metallic whirring, and almost a tappety sound, making it seem a little crude and unsophisticated. I couldn’t help myself, though. A quick prod of the throttle, and a sharp echoey bark filled the carpark. Ah yes, you will smile. You can’t hold it back.

As the man from BMW ran through the various controls and iDrive, my eyes glazed over, just listening to the engine rumbling away, waiting, nay, begging to be used. Then, it was time to take off the lid. Holding the centre console button down, the roof neatly unclipped, folded and packed away in a staggering 22-seconds.

Now the time itself might not seem that quick, but when you take into account the fact that this is a heavy metal roof, and that there’s virtually no noise from the springs, wires and motors, you realise why you’ll pay an additional $13,000 over its Coupe sibling. The folding hardtop is simply one of the best around.

There’s an additional benefit. It’s called “aural delight”. With the roof off and the windows down, you get pure access to that heavenly engine. And boy, is it worth it. The 4.0-litre engine’s black and white figures don’t do it justice. A spec sheet will tell you that, yes, you get 309kW of power and 400Nm of torque. But the spec sheet doesn’t tell you how incredibly versatile, and well balanced is that engine.

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