From 0 to 200 MPH: Rare BMW Reveals Why M Is the Most Powerful Letter in the World

The first-ever BMW M car was revealed at the Paris Motor Show more than 40 years ago. Kids these days might have not even heard about the M1, but any true BMW fan will perceive that vehicle as a sort of deity on four wheels.

But it wasn't until 1986 that the first BMW M3 came out, and it was powered by an inline-four unit. Fast forward to the '90s, it was the M3 E36 that took over from the older E30. This time, the German manufacturer opted for a larger inline-six engine.

The E46 M3 came out at the beginning of the millennia, and it was still using an engine with six cylinders inside. But you could say that BMW gave the world a glimpse of its intentions upon the release of the M3 GTR, which had a 4.0-liter V8 instead.

Only a handful of cars were ever built, and the price tag was enough to make most people consider buying a supercar instead. And in 2007, the S65 V8 engine made its international debut. This 4.0-liter unit shared some similarities with the F1-inspired S85 V10 that was used by the E60 M5 and E63 M6.

In its stock form, the S65 V8 had an output of 414-hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque. And that's not bad at all for a streetcar that weighs just over 3,600 lbs (1,632 kg). But just as BMW had previously created a limited-edition M3 E46 -the CSL- they felt the need to up the ante with the E92 as well.

Announced in 2009, the GTS was a track-focused, razor-sharp coupe with plenty of upgrades. Engine displacement was increased to 4.4-liters, and that meant that drivers would have access to 444-hp and 325 lb-ft (440 Nm) of torque.

The GTS was about 300 lbs (136 kg) lighter than the standard M3, and as you would expect, it was produced as a limited edition, with only 150 cars leaving the factory floor in less than two years. That makes it one of the rarest M cars ever built: there are more than 400 M1s and over 5,000 Z8s, just to put things in perspective.

But we could go on and on about the M3 GTS and why it's such a special vehicle. It wasn't long ago that we came across one that was for sale in Italy for a whopping $275,875. And there's a GTS replica being auctioned on BaT that's now up to over $110,000.

And the guys over at Autotop.nl have been fortunate enough to be given the keys to such an example. As if that's not cool enough, they also get to test it on a no-speed limit zone on the Autobahn. Sure, it would have been more fun to see it going around the Nordschleife.

But we already know that it's more than capable of delivering a sub-8 minute lap, so let's watch it hit 200 mph (321 kph) on the German highway instead. The car belongs to a BMW M collector, who seems to own quite a few interesting cars, including an M3 CSL, an M4 GTS, an M3 Sport Evolution, and an M2 CS.

Once the car gets moving, one of the first things you'll notice is how good the dual-clutch, 7-speed automatic gearbox is. Shifting is done quickly and smoothly, and the V8 rumble is present even at lower RPM.

Skip towards the end of the video if you want to get to the fun part, where the driver switches to wide-open-throttle mode. Going up from 62 mph (100 kph) to 124 mph (200 kph) only takes 9.33 seconds and a little over a quarter-mile (402 meters).

Things slow down a bit after 124 mph, as from that point on to 155 mph (250 kph), the M3 GTS requires an additional 10.62 seconds. As the speedometer slowly climbs up to 186 mph (300 kph), we also notice that the GPS is at 167 mph (270 kph).

BMW's orange icon tops out at just over 200 mph, according to the dashboard, but in all fairness, the accurate figure is 178 mph (287 kph). If joining the 200 mph club is all that you're interested in, there are probably cheaper options for achieving that. But if you want to own one of the rarest BMWs ever built, then the M3 GTS might just be the right answer for you.