Photo: Martin Hangen/Hangenfoto/BMW
Bugs Bunny definitely means business now (just look at the grille and you'll catch my drift). Meet BMW M Motorsport’s new M4 GT3 customer race car, based on the latest M4 Competition Coupe model. Under its hood sits a P58 3.0-liter inline-six turbocharged engine, good for 590 hp. This engine is said to be roughly 80 lbs (36 kg) lighter than the 8-cylinder unit found in the M6 GT3.
The price for one of these is $530,000 in the U.S. (excluding shipping costs), while the Competition Package adds $55,000 to the tally. The latter includes additional headlights, backlit door numbers, TPMS with 8 sensors, spring and brake pedal travel measurement systems, a Bosch CAS-M rearview camera radar system, an extra set of rims, plus one day of training on the BMW M Motorsport M4 GT3 simulator.
As far as North America is concerned, the M4 GT3 will compete in the GT Daytona and GT Daytona Pro classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the GT class of the SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America and SRO GT America series.
Coming back to that P58 M TwinPower Turbo engine, it’s based on the S58 unit found in the new M4 Competition Coupe, but with several modifications, resulting in 590 hp (598 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque. “This is the most powerful straight-six engine BMW has installed in a racing car since the days of the BMW M1 Group 5,” said BMW Motorsport head of Drivetrain design, Ulrich Schulz.
The gearbox is a sequential 6-speed unit, similar to the one found in the M8 GTE. The clutch, however, is electro-hydraulic, which allows for lower wear.
One of the highlights of the new M4 GT3 is its steering wheel, developed jointly by BMW Motorsport and sim hardware producer FANATEC, which is why this wheel is the first of its kind to work both in a real car and on a simulator. The steering wheel itself will go on sale to sim racers in Q2 of this year, and you’ll be able to use it to manage features such as traction control, radio, ABS, engine mapping, windshield wipers, and the drink system.
The BMW M4 GT3 will make its international track debut on June 26 at the Nürburgring.
As far as North America is concerned, the M4 GT3 will compete in the GT Daytona and GT Daytona Pro classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the GT class of the SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America and SRO GT America series.
Coming back to that P58 M TwinPower Turbo engine, it’s based on the S58 unit found in the new M4 Competition Coupe, but with several modifications, resulting in 590 hp (598 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque. “This is the most powerful straight-six engine BMW has installed in a racing car since the days of the BMW M1 Group 5,” said BMW Motorsport head of Drivetrain design, Ulrich Schulz.
The gearbox is a sequential 6-speed unit, similar to the one found in the M8 GTE. The clutch, however, is electro-hydraulic, which allows for lower wear.
One of the highlights of the new M4 GT3 is its steering wheel, developed jointly by BMW Motorsport and sim hardware producer FANATEC, which is why this wheel is the first of its kind to work both in a real car and on a simulator. The steering wheel itself will go on sale to sim racers in Q2 of this year, and you’ll be able to use it to manage features such as traction control, radio, ABS, engine mapping, windshield wipers, and the drink system.
The BMW M4 GT3 will make its international track debut on June 26 at the Nürburgring.
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