BMW M3 GTR

BMW M3 GTR at a glance

By 2000 the E46 M3's straight-six was being outpaced in GT racing by rivals such as the Porsche 996 GT3. BMW Motorsport responded by fitting a V8 into the M3 bodyshell, creating the GTR. Because ALMS rules required race cars to be based on road cars, BMW also developed a road version. The M3 GTR sits in a long line of BMW motorsport road cars that began with the BMW M1, and the brand's wider story is told in the history of BMW. Current models are in the BMW catalogue.

Timeline

The race car and the 2001 season

The M3 GTR made its racing debut in February 2001. Its 4.0-litre V8 was far more powerful and torquey than the E46 M3's six-cylinder, and the car used a dry-sump lubrication system and carbon-fibre body parts. In the 2001 American Le Mans Series it won the GT category, with Jörg Müller as its leading driver.

Rival teams then argued that the GTR was not a genuine production car. For 2002 the rules were changed to require at least 100 cars and 1,000 engines, which BMW was not prepared to build. BMW therefore withdrew the M3 GTR from the series after a single season.

The road version

To satisfy the 2001 rule that a road car must be offered for sale on at least two continents within twelve months, BMW developed a road-going M3 GTR during 2001 and showed it at the season-ending Petit Le Mans. Ten development cars were built, three of them production-ready display cars; the other seven prototypes were recycled. BMW announced a planned price of €250,000, and it stated that ten road cars were available for sale.

The road car's V8 was detuned from the race engine's 331 kW to 285 kW and kept the dry-sump oil system. It uses a six-speed manual gearbox and the same variable locking differential as the race car. Carbon-fibre bumpers and rear wing help keep the dry weight to 1,350 kg. According to the old 1cars text, the carbon-fibre roof, vents in the bonnet, lowered suspension and twin-plate sports clutch were also part of the package, while comfort features such as air conditioning and a radio were omitted.

Return to endurance racing

Although the GTR left the ALMS, BMW kept racing it in Europe. In 2003 Schnitzer Motorsport entered two cars in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and in 2004 and 2005 the M3 GTR won the race outright. It also competed in the 24 Hours of Spa. In Australia, a privately entered M3 GTR with a 5.0-litre version of the V8 qualified third for the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour but retired after an accident.

BMW's later M3 race cars continued the tradition: in 2010 the M3 GT2 of BMW Motorsport and Schnitzer won the Nürburgring 24 Hours with Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus, Pedro Lamy and Uwe Alzen.

The Need for Speed legend

The M3 GTR gained a cult following through Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005), in which it is the player's hero car. Wikipedia notes that nearly 85% of search results about the GTR relate to the game. The car also appears in Real Racing 3. In November 2024 BMW wrapped the 2001 ALMS-winning number 42 GTR in the game's livery and displayed it at BMW Welt in Munich from December 2024 to January 2025.

Rarity today

With only a handful of road cars ever completed, the M3 GTR is one of the rarest BMWs. The old 1cars text reports that one road car went to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates and another is in the BMW Museum. It cannot be bought new, and genuine examples rarely, if ever, come up for sale. Today the M3 line continues with the BMW M3 Competition and BMW M4 both far more practical everyday cars.

Rivals: how the M3 GTR compared

On track, the M3 GTR's main rivals in the ALMS GT class were the Porsche 911 GT3 models, which it beat in 2001. In the higher GTS class, cars such as the Dodge Viper GTS-R raced with larger V10 engines. The GTR's strengths were its high-revving V8, balance and BMW Motorsport development; its weakness was the homologation dispute that ended its ALMS career after one season.