BMW doesn’t want the Maserati GranTurismo MC to get all the spotlight at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife this year. The May 23rd race will be the premiere run of BMW’s M3 GT4 car.
BMW is importing Augusto Farfus, Jorg Muller and Andy Priaulx from the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) to give the M3 GT4 a workout. While BMW has been a dominate force of the WTCC circuit, it has an uphill battle in the GT4 class. It’s been won by an American car, the Ford Mustang FR500C, for the last two years (the driver was German.)
Press release after the jump.
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The days of high-revving, big engine BMW M cars are over. The V10 in the M5 will be replaced with a twin-turbo V8, and now details are emerging on the cylinder loss for the next generation M3.
Right now BMW’s hottest 3-Series car is propelled by a 4.0-liter 414 hp V8 engine, but when the next generation 3-Series comes in 2012, don’t expect the engines to get above six cylinders. BMW’s M Group CEO, Ludwig Willisch told Motor Trend that a turbocharged six-cylinder engine is a must for the next generation M3.
But don’t despair just yet. While the horsepower from the six cylinder engine won’t likely be as much as the current V8, the weight savings should give the car similar performance with better fuel economy. This will also move more of the car’s weight towards the center. Willisch said the V6 is "a more compact engine that could be butted up against the firewall."
BMW has been flexing its horsepower muscle in the last few years, but now the next cars will be more about showing off engineering talent. So while we predict there is still plenty more news to come about car with smaller engines, we also expect that to be supplemented with news of turbocharging and utilization of BMW’s EfficiencyDynamics.
The latest
BMW M3 has received a new upgrade pack from the Japanese tuner Iding Power which instantly became a topic of discussion centered around its enormous rear wing. Although the M3 may require some additional rear axle downforce, the size of the rear wing is just a bit extreme even for the drag strip.
BMW has a pretty good history with modifying cars for competition (anyone remember E46 M3s that dominated the American Le Mans Series before the rules changed?) So it’s a big deal when BMW announces a new track car. We don’t have any technical information on the M3 GT4 yet, but we should get a full breakdown when we see it at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
All we know right now is this race car was developed on BMW’s private race track in Aschheim, Bavaria and privateer teams may specify their own individual parts from the respective racing kits according to the series they are competing in. The M3 GT4 will be priced at around €120,000 (about $153,000 at direct current rates).
Press release after the jump.
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The BMW M3 is a superb automobile; it goes from 0-60 MPH (0-100 km/h) in 4.4 seconds and will cover the quarter mile in 12.7 seconds. From the factory the M3 is powered by a 414 HP 4.0 liter V8; however that did not stop the German tuners G-Power from making ridiculous amounts of power from the vehicle. With the addition of a supercharger they were able to make 635 HP.
The rationale behind the supercharger was to significantly increase the low end torque of the M3 as well as increase power throughout the entire RPM range. For those who are hesitant to boost a factory BMW engine, but still want more from a M3, G-Power has developed an engine swap package where they will transplant the 550 HP V10 from the M5 into the smaller and lighter M3. Now that’s a German muscle car.
More info and performance packages after the jump
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BMW likes to spread its technology around. If its going to perfect the driving experience of the 3-Series with the M3, then it likes to do it over the full line. So far we can get our hands on the coupe, sedan and convertible in "M" form, but what about the version that can take the kids and dog along on the Autobahn?
We expect BMW to spread the M3 joy over to the wagon soon, but that’s not good enough for designer Jon Sibal. He’s taken elements from the current M3 and applied them to the wagon body. For good measure he’s also added plenty of aftermarket kit parts too (AC Schnitzer front lip and roof wing lowered KW suspension, Black Series BBS RE Magnesium, etc.)
Although we usually favor coupes, if we found ourselves needing a few child seats, this may just be our preferred family-sized rocket.
Once you’ve earned the title "Fastest Man Alive", of course car companies want a piece of you. Usain Bolt got a dream opportunity to put a Ferrari 430 Spider though its paces in Monaco on its F1 city circuit. Bolt was already in Monaco for the World Athletics Gala, promoted by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), where he received the "Athlete of the Year" award.
Ferrari was not his only test drive. Bolt was also in Germany for some track time with the BMW M3. Since his record run of 100 meters in 9.69 seconds gives him an average of about 23.1 miles per hour, he should feel right at home in a car that is limited to 155 mph.
Usually the special editions are released by the car manufacturers in order to improve the sales of their vehicles and it seems that a German tuner named Zwickenpflug applied the same recipe with the new Bmw M3 Leather Edition created by Thomas Zwickenpflug . As you already figured the new vehicle comes with a stylish leather interior with Alcantara insertions found on the steering wheel, door panels and the sport buckets, but that’s not the only surprise from the German manufacturer.
The engine was also upgraded from 420 hp to 445 hp conferring a top speed of 200 mph. Due to these numbers a new set of BBS alloy wheels were added for better handling of the vehicle. No words about the price yet!
Hartge unveiled its latest creation, the new aerodynamic kit for the 2008 BMW M3 Coupe and Cabrio.
The new kit includes a new front lip spoiler, new raer air diffuser, a trunk lip spoiler, a new set of carbon-fiber mirror covers, and a brand new set of side sills. Out of all the parts available, the most important is definitely the sport exhaust system, which will unleash the M3’s engine note on the massive 420 hp V8.
Many of you folks were disappointed when BMW announced that there will be no CSL version of the current BMW M3. In order to change this, the American tuner Vorsteiner unveiled today its customized BMW M3. The purpose of the car is to create a new CLS, which means the M3 had to lose some weight. A new carbon fiber hood was installed, new carbon fiber rear trunk with integrated spoiler, carbon fiber rear air diffuser and a new titanium-made exhaust system.
Under the hood the original 420 hp has been boosted to 460 hp and 328lb-ft, while the speed limiter was removed, permitting the vehicle to reach speeds close to 200 mph. Also a new set wider alloy wheels were added in order to improve the stability. According to the manufacturer, a new version of the M3 is currently under development capable to develop an astonishing 500 hp.
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