As long as the racing game exists, so does the accompanying ‘hero car’, which will then forever become synonymous with that title.
Think of Ferrari’s Testarossa in the original Avoid or the famous WRC Toyota Celica GT-Four van Sega Rally early nineties. Both are undeniably cool cars in their own right, which were then elevated to cult status through a gaming collaboration.
But every now and then a partnership is created that goes far beyond mere association and instead becomes the sole reason for a car’s fame, especially when that game stands the test of time over multiple generations.
We are talking about the BMW E46 M3 GTR and Need for speed Most searched from 2005 of course. And we’re by no means suggesting that the M3 GTR’s racing performance pales in comparison to its digital footprint, but rather we’re embracing the fact that – almost twenty years later Most searched launched – it continues to be revered and celebrated by past, present and future gamers around the world.
If you saw our last week’s story revealing the ultimate Most searched M3 GTR tributeare you at all familiar with the backstory of how this iconic race car first came to light and what made it so fast within the ALMS (American Le Mans Series) in which it initially competed.
We’ll have a full, in-depth history of the M3 GTR landing very soon (including the E36 M3 GTR that preceded it, along with the very limited Strassen version), but until then we wanted to dive into five key reasons why we’re still I still love this car, more than twenty years later, and why it caught on so well Need for speed players. And that’s before we get into the fan-built replicas that are created every year in tribute…
1. It’s a motorsports and gaming icon
We’ll start here with the most obvious, but few other cars have captured this level of following among both racing and gaming fans around the world. First launched in 2001 to compete in their fierce ALMS GT series, BMW had previously fielded the E46 M3 with its six-cylinder engine, but feared it would not be powerful enough to compete with its rivals including Porsche and Corvette .
Instead, BMW got creative and exploited a small loophole designed to give them a competitive advantage. The straight-six was ditched in favor of a super-compact, super-lightweight V8 engine called the P60B40. The catch? They would have to produce at least ten street examples to homologate it for racing.
That’s exactly what BMW set out to do: build ten ‘Strassenversion’ M3 GTRs with the plan to sell them individually for €250,000 (about $262,500 in today’s terms) each. They were never officially sold, and of the ten examples developed, only three exist, all owned (and exhibited) by BMW.
For the 2002 ALMS season, BMW would have had to build 100 vehicles and 1,000 engines to then be eligible to participate – something they decided against.
But before we thought this was a shame, BMW not only dominated the 2001 season (which brought about this production increase), but also paved the way for the E46’s successor – the E92 M3 – which would then be factory-fitted with a V8 equipped. , and coincidentally returned a few years later in 2009 to race in the ALMS GT2 category.
2. Its thundering P60B40 V8 engine
The M3 GTR may have been the first official V8-powered E46, but it wasn’t the only one in existence. Because in 2000, BMW North America joined forces with Prototype Technology Group (PTG) to build a V8-powered E46 M3 for the Rolex Grand-Am Series.
Where the two cars differ is in the V8 engines used. A heavily reworked S62 was fitted to the PTG cars, otherwise found in the E39 M5 and Z8. But in the M3 GTR? An entirely new engine has been developed exclusively for racing.
Produced between 2001 and 2005 for BMW’s Sports Car Racing program, the P60B40 was only used in two models: the M3 GTR race car and the M3 GTR Strassen version (albeit detuned to around 380 hp).
With a displacement of 4.0 liters, a compression ratio of 12.0:1 and a flat-plane crankshaft, the P60B40 initially developed 444 hp at 7,500 rpm, despite having two 30.4 mm restrictors fitted. Later versions of the V8 produced closer to 500 hp, but its compact and lightweight construction allowed BMW to keep the weight of the M3 GTR race car at just 1,100 kg (2,425 lbs).
3. Its iconic status inside Need for speed
The M3 GTR first appeared in Most searched from 2005, but did you know it was included in several? Need for speed titles since then?
Carbon, World, Most Wanted (2012), No boundaries, sharpness, heat and of course Untethered, just to name a few. In most cases it’s always been unlockable content later – and in some cases just a body kit/tribute – but that’s been its effect on Need for speed players around the world it is still replicated even in those games without the official livery or inclusion.
In fact, inside Untethered, not only will the OG M3 GTR appear, but also a special NFS Also the 30th Anniversary Edition, which includes four striking hero car liveries in one.
4. That incredible whine from the gearbox
If you played the original Most Searched, you would have heard that – in addition to the sound of the V8 engine – there was a very distinctive whine that got louder the faster you drove. That was no accident; Need for speed wanted to recreate the sound as close as possible to the real racing car, including the mighty whine that comes with the racing gearbox.
Of course, there is incredible footage available of the M3 GTR’s Hewland gearbox making all the right noises. But what some people don’t realize is that it wasn’t always a sequential edit; Initially it was a six-speed manual, before switching to the sequential a few years later.
5. The iconic color scheme and broad styling
We’re not just talking about blue and silver Most searched livery here. Look through the racing history of the M3 GTR between 2001 and 2005 and you’ll find several iterations, from the blue/white Team BMW Motorsport cars used within the ALMS to the red/white/blue cars of the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring.
Of course, these specific body kits were never officially sold outside of racing. Made entirely of carbon fiber, the M3 is over 100mm wider than the standard version – essential for housing the 11.5-inch slick tires mounted on BBS RE594/595 wheels.
An original kit would have cost well over €25,000 (US$26,250) depending on which wing/splitter you chose, but luckily there are plenty of similar (cheaper) versions available for anyone looking to get started on their own BMW M3. GTR tribute…
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