Classifieds' Car Of The Day: BMW 320Si Homologation Special

At first glance, you might think we've gone a bit mad and featured a bog-standard BMW 3-series as our Car Of The Day. But fear not, we're still in command of our mental faculties. You see, this is no ordinary 3-series, it's actually a limited edition World Touring Car Championship homologation special.

Limited to 2600 units to satisfy WTCC rules, the 320Si uses a hand-built 2.0-litre four-pot with a gorgeous carbon fibre rocker cover. The seller of this example we found didn't include the all-important under-bonnet shot, so we added a stock picture above.

It all sounds quite promising, until you find out that the performance isn't exactly blistering. That trick engine only develops 170bhp, meaning it'll take you a relatively laid-back 8.1 seconds to go from 0-60mph. Let's not forget though that massive power isn't everything; Toyota's fantastic GT86, for example, does a good job of proving that.

Plus, a 7300rpm redline makes the 320Si a delectably revvy little thing, and with those 18-inch BMW Motorsport rims this is easily the best-looking E90 3-series that's not an M3. In a way, you could think of this as a 'spiritual successor' to the old E30 318iS, which also sported a fizzy four-pot. A decent 320Si will cost you about the same as the equivalent M-Sport-packaged 320i, so if you're in the market for one of those cars, the Si is almost a no-brainer.

We say 'almost', as there have been some engine issues reported with these cars, particularly with cracked cylinder liners, so it's worth doing your research before taking the plunge. Should you want to do that, our featured example is well worth a look. It's done only 52,000 miles and has the all-important full service history.