Bmw Gtr Gt M3

There was just one problem: The new engine wasn't standard in any series version of the M3. Strictly speaking, the M3 GTR was a prototype and so didn't fulfil the homologation regulations for the ALMS GT series. Thus, production and sales of a small series of street.

In 2000, the M3 race car, which is known as the M3 GTR and races in the GT class, won only once and was trounced by its chief rival, the Porsche 911. Three E46 M3 GTRs have survived the test of time but only this one is still running. BMW Group Classic USA takes us on a tour of the unicorn.

Produced between 2001 and 2005 for BMW's Sports Car Racing program, the P60B40 was only ever used in two models: the M3 GTR race car and the M3 GTR Strassenversion (albeit detuned to around 380bhp). With a 4.0-litre displacement, a 12.0:1 compression and a flat-plane crankshaft, the P60B40 developed 444bhp at 7,500rpm initially despite having two 30.4mm restrictors in place. Later versions.

BMW introduced a new E46 M3-based race car for 2001. Instead of a version of the S54B32 straight-six, this M3 GTR ran a different engine, the P60B40, a 4.0 liter V8 with a flat. The BMW M3 GTR may be considered the rarest BMW in the world, but you're more likely to know it from Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Players of the iconic game will remember tearing up the streets in a silver. As the M3 road car was now a V8, they were truly within the "spirit of' GT racing. Consecutive BMW titles in 2010 and 2011 must make Porsche wish they had kept quiet a decade earlier.

The E90 GTR may now be legitimate, but the E46 will always be more special for pushing GT racing to the limit of its rules. The M3 GTR had a short-lived but impressive motorsport history, winning the GT category of the 2001 American Le Mans Series and making a comeback at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2004 and 2005. A ultra-rare BMW E46 M3 GTR - which is one of only two - is best known for its appearance in Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

A Star On The Racetrack The BMW M3 GTR became famous for dominating the 2001 ALMS GT Series. It was not an ordinary E46 M3. BMW fitted it with a naturally aspirated engine (4.0-liter V8), producing good horsepower (450).

Advanced aerodynamics also played a big role in its success, making it faster and more stable at high speeds.