The BMW M4 arrived in 2014 to replace the two-door version of the M3. Since then, the German company unleashed more than a handful of special-edition versions, including a trio of race-spec cars.
The M4 DTM was the first to hit the track. It happened in 2014, right as the road-legal variant arrived in showrooms. The car has since scored 30 wins and helped BMW take home the DTM constructors' championship twice (2014 and 2015).
The DTM version was followed by a GT4-spec M4, homologated under the SRO GT4 category and aimed primarily at amateur drivers. Rated at 425 horsepower, the M4 GT4 debuted at the 2017 24 Hours of Nurburgring. In 2021, BMW finally unveiled a GT3 race car for the FIA Group GT3 class.
Why did it take BMW so many years to roll out a GT3-spec M4? Well, it's not that the M4 did not provide a solid platform. BMW simply chose to use the M6 as a replacement for the Z4 GT3 in 2015. With the road-spec grand tourer no longer in production since 2018, the Germans turned to their smaller coupe, the M4, as a base.
Unveiled in 2021, the M4 GT3 stormed the 2022 racing season with private and factory-backed teams. The German race car joined the ADAC GT Masters, GT World Challenge Europe, GT World Challenge Endurance Cup, and the IMSA SportsCar Championship, among other series.
And while it has yet to be as successful as its predecessor in Europe so far, the M4 GT3 helped BMW win the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2022 and 2023 with eight wins over two seasons.
2023 saw the M4 GT3 score important wins in Europe, too, through Belgian outfits Team WRT and ROWE Racing. The German race car came out on top at Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, and Misano Circuit. And it sure looks like it's developing into a successful and reliable motorsport machine.
If you're a fan of GT3 racing, you've already seen the M4 GT3 wearing colorful liveries across Europe, North America, and Asia. But you probably haven't seen it showcasing its bare carbon-fiber shell. Well, thanks to YouTube's "19Bozzy92," you can watch the winged coupe doing just that during a testing session at Misano Circuit.
Both cars belong to the Italian team Ceccato Racing and wear nothing but the carbon "skin" they got from the factory. And it's a beautiful sight if you're into almost pitch-black carbon weave. And, of course, you'll also hear the race-spec and turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six.
Based on the S58 mill in the production car, the lump cranks out 590 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque. At its introduction, the M4 GT3 was the most powerful straight-six Bimmer since the BMW M1 Group 5 race car of the late 1970s. Naturally, it also packs more oomph than any road-legal M4 built to date, including the limited-edition, 553-horsepower 3.0 CSL.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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