BMW M3 Door Commits Suicide while Racecar Laps Nurburgring at 170 MPH/280 KM/H

The intro might sound like a poor attempt at humor, but, in fact, it perfectly describes the action that take place in the video at the bottom of the page.

We're dealing with an M3 that's been given the full racecar treatment, with the Bimmer losing its left door while playing the Green Hell game. As if this wasn't enough, the door decides to say goodbye while the car was doing around 170 mph (that's 280 km/h for all you metric system aficionados).

Run by a team dubbed Setra Motorsport, this E46, which mixes its supercharger with a manual gearbox, has seen tons and tons of track action over the years, whether on the Nordschleife or on other tracks. In fact, we've added a second Ring clip below, to show you what happens when the car's panels don't decide to give a new meaning to "suicide doors".

Come to think of it, such a move might bring a weight reduction advantage, but since we're talking about a circuit animal, enough of the door's weight had already been removed, so the thing would probably be better off staying on the car.

Then there are the drag-related issues - a missing door would probably be OK while lapping the track at Yellow flag pace, but this isn't exactly the case here (here's how such a lap looks like).

P.S.: While it's difficult to check out the driver's reaction without giggling, this should serve as a track day lesson, one aimed at promoting the safety first mantra.