The "M" designator has been a BMW staple almost since the inception of the marque. Meaning "motorsport", this letter has graced some of the finest driving vehicles ever to touch asphalt.

BMW Motorsport is actually a separate company, like AMG for Mercedes.

The "M" logo has appeared on vehicles from four-door sedans to two-seat coupes, and everything in between.

The most famous "M" car is probably the 1,000-horsepower BMW M1, the first and most agressively designed car to carry the appellation. Although underwhelming at the track, the beautiful and bold M1 made a strong statement about BMW's sport chops.

Ironically, the car many credit as the first M Raodster was not an "M" vehicle at all. the Z1 Roadster, introduced in 1988, was a composite-bodied two-seater that embodied all of the style and technical refinements the M Roadsters are known for today, but was not worked over by the Motorsport Group.

The first M Roadster was introduced in 1998, the 240-horsepower Z3. One of the first BMWs to be built in the USA, the car was featured in the movie Goldeneye. This helped launch the series and secure its image as a techno-studmobile.

The current iteration is the Z4 M Roadster, and it is an aggressively-styled two-seat rollerskate with a 3.2 liter, 24-valve inline six-cylinder engine.

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