2001 BMW M3 GTR (E46)

On DisplayBMW

May 21

Written By Guest User

Quick Specs

P60 4.0-liter V-8
500+
American Le Mans Series (ALMS)
2 Wins, 4 Podiums, 6 Races
Bill Auberlen, Boris Said, Hans-Joachim Stuck

Video Game Legend

Based on the third-generation M3 (E46), the M3 GTR was developed for racing in the 2001 season of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), which briefly allowed manufacturers to use race cars with purpose-built racing engines, provided a small number of equivalent roadgoing examples were built. These rules were changed for the following season but not before the M3 GTR won the Manufacturers’, Teams’, and Drivers’ Championships. The M3 GTR race car achieved cult status as the central vehicle in the story of the popular 2005 racing video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted. To celebrate the game’s 20th anniversary, BMW M wrapped one of its real M3 GTR race cars to resemble the one in the game. This example’s stars-and-stripes livery was designed to honor America in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

Collection of BMW GROUP CLASSIC USA

This vehicle featured in the Ultimate Racing Machine exhibit.

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