After a successful run around the Nurburgring a couple of months ago, BMW has finally released its new M4 GT3 race car. Yes, it’s for sale to customers and no, it’s not cheap.
The car is a part of BMW’s Customer Racing Program, which gives customers access to race cars and even the chance to race as part of a team of other customer drivers. Don’t think you don’t have to have some kind of skill to pilot this thing. It’s a race car through and through.
Based on the recently introduced M4 Competition, the heart of the M4 GT3 is an M tuned 3.0-liter twin-turbo I6 with 590 horsepower. BMW says it’s the most powerful I6 engine it’s put in a race car since the Group 5 M1. A sequential six-speed gearbox puts the power down.
It wouldn’t be a proper race car without weight savings. The interior has been gutted of course, but it’s all about the driver. A more powerful A/C keeps you cool on hot laps, interior illumination of panels and controls can be dimmed for night racing, and there are adjustable steering wheels and pedals. All the switches and controls have been ergonomically designed to be within reach. This isn’t what you’d find in your friend’s “race car” that’s actually just a gutted E36; it’s the comfort and focus needed for safely running sprint and endurance events on this car’s level.
The big question is how much is all of this going to set you back. Of course, it’s not cheap. The M4 GT3 is $530,000, and that’s just to start. There’s a Competition package for an additional $55,000 that adds things like extra headlights, an extra set of rims, BOSCH CAS-M rear-view camera radar system, and a full day of driver training in a M4 GT3 driving simulator.
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