BMW M3 Flips Over At Car Meet, Conveniently In Front Of A Cop

An E36-generation BMW M3 has been left in tatters after its owner crashed it while making a hasty exit from a car meet in Sacramento, California.

Now, you might expect tales of automotive wreckage to be dominated by Ford Mustangs, but this time, it was a German performance model that took the hit. But this wasn’t just any M3. Under the hood was a transplanted LS V8, so it shares at least one trait with those Mustang misadventures—eight cylinders of raw power.

However, just like plenty of those Mustang crashes, it also appears as though it had more power than the driver could handle.

Read: If You Buy Enough M5 Tourings, BMW Might Bring Next M3 Wagon To US

Footage from the scene shows the driver of the car slowly pulling out from the car event, pulling the car straight, and then pinning the throttle. While it has a set of Michelin tires, they are only 245-section at the rear and were still probably cold.

It didn’t take long for the rear end to lose grip, and while a skilled driver might have tamed the American-powered German beast, the owner’s decision to shift into second gear mid-burnout was a recipe for disaster. That miscalculation sent the M3 skidding sideways.

The car then slides sideways up a driveway before the rear end slams into the curb, flipping onto two wheels before coming to rest on its roof. Making things all the worse for the driver is the fact that a police cruiser was parked directly outside the car meet and officers saw the whole thing unfold. Fortunately, no bystanders, nor other vehicles, were hit by the out-of-control M3.

As the video wraps up, the driver emerges from the overturned BMW, looking surprisingly unscathed. Talk about a close call—though we suspect their ego might need a bit more time to recover.