Video: Is This 318iS a Convincing 'Baby M3'?

3.0 CSL, M1, M635i, E30 M3, M3 CSL. You could go on for hours. Each embodies this fanaticism that defines BMW when it turns its hand to performance, yet all do so in a slightly different way. Then you look beyond the headline-grabbers. Beyond the ones hung up in an art installation in a museum and the ones that were in “buy this as an investment” articles in magazines ten years ago. Real golden eggs that don’t necessarily shimmer unless you’re clued in and giving your full attention.

By that token, meet the E30 318iS as featured in the Petrolicious video above. It is by no means a fully fledged M car. It’d be a trouble for most to discern it as anything performance related, but for this owner, it’s the perfect driver’s car. She calls it a ‘baby M3’. Would you agree? The not-quite-M-cars we know today are stonking, so she might have a point. 318iS vs M235i anyone?