Earlier in the year, we asked you which Need for Speed hero car has been your favourite over the last 30 years of NFS games.
Naturally, there was a fairly mixed response. And it quickly became apparent that the answers we received were heavily influenced by what era you grew up in and which title was released during that time.
Racing games, especially those played in our younger years before owning a car, massively shaped our interest in specific car models and brands and the type of tuning culture we align with.
In the earlier Need for Speed titles, there was much more focus on those high-end supercars as opposed to tuning – cars like the Lamborghini Murciélago and Ferrari F50. But once we reached the early 2000s, and specifically, the introduction of the first Underground title, it was time for the JDM takeover, with Nissan’s R34 Skyline GT-R, 350Z and R35 GT-R all appearing as cover cars almost one after the other.
Despite Need for Speed’s history spanning three decades, there’s one particular title – and car – which continually pops up as a favourite even some 19 years after its initial launch. You all know the one – Most Wanted and the BMW E46 M3 GTR, which recently became a real-life exhibition at BMW Welt.
While this real-world M3 GTR might be the most realistic to date (no surprise, given it’s an actual M3 GTR underneath the livery), it’s far from the only one out there. In fact, for at least the last decade, we’ve seen a huge array of Most Wanted M3 GTR ‘tribute’ builds from car fans all across the globe. It seems something about this particular car and game just resonated in a way others didn’t…
Perhaps it’s the fact that 2005 is now long enough ago for those who played Most Wanted (as kids) to now be in a position to embark on a project car? Perhaps it’s because the BMW 3 Series is an easier, more affordable platform to start with. Or perhaps it’s just because the M3 GTR – with all its brilliant history and racing pedigree – was just an iconic choice when Most Wanted first launched.
However, it’s not an easy car to replicate (if you caught the story about the BMW x NFS M3 GTR, you’ll know that). Getting hold of certain parts can be nigh on impossible. The BBS magnesium wheels are centre-lock and were only used for racing. The body kit is entirely carbon fibre, making it hugely expensive and only available through BMW’s customer racing department for a very short time. Then there’s the engine…
No E46 3 Series ever came from the factory (officially) with a V8 fitted, aside from the Strassenversion BMW had to produce to homologate the M3 GTR for racing. This means that anyone embarking on a tribute build is in for a long – and expensive – journey. But that still hasn’t deterred many from realising a dream.
To delve deeper into what makes the Most Wanted M3 GTR such a significant car for Need for Speed fans, we’ve teamed up with three different ‘tribute’ builders from around the world to find out their motivation behind each build.
Most Wanted – Los Angeles
Speedhunters: Van, thanks so much for taking the time to showcase your M3! First question: How old were you when you played Most Wanted, and what made it stand out to you?
Van Aguilar: I had just turned 15. I got Most Wanted as a very early Christmas gift from my father. I was thrilled to play it since I had spent so much time playing Underground and Underground 2.
Most Wanted was different and stood out for three reasons. 1. It was racing during the day – no more hiding at night. 2. Police were now involved and chasing you down in your custom ride. 3. You could destroy the city to escape the police and build your rap sheet.
SH: What makes the M3 GTR the ultimate hero car vs. other Need for Speed cars?
VA: Something new EA did that made the M3 stand out was that, unlike Underground and Underground 2, the starting car was your car. In Underground, the first car you race is just a fantasy. The second is a friend’s (Rachel’s) car.
You are new to the town and take part in just a handful of races where you dominate with this rare car, only to have it cheated away from you. You spend the entire game fighting back to earn your car back.
SH: How long have you owned your BMW, and how difficult has the journey been making it into a Most Wanted tribute car?
VA: I first bought my M3 back in early October 2018 from a private owner in San Diego for $10,000. The car was in great shape, and the seller truly loved it, but he was expecting a child, so he needed a more family-friendly vehicle. He was so hyped to know his old car would become what it is and still follows along.
The hardest part was the body kit since it didn’t exist. At the time, there were a couple of people building the kit, but they were going too slow or gave up. A few companies were claiming to have a GTR kit, but they were far from accurate.
Thankfully, I found Dave at 2M Autowerks through a friend, Andre, who was also building the Most Wanted M3 at the time. Dave’s passion project was and still is the 911 tribute GTR. So, he was going for the exact details.
SH: What’s been the reaction to your M3 from other gamers and car fans?
VA: The reaction I always love to see and hear people say,” You actually did it?! This is the car that got me into cars as a kid.”
It truly means the world to me. Seeing someone who grew up with this car and now sometimes has kids of their own, and they take pictures with their kids with the car. That is a nice feeling.
SH: What do you think about the BMW x NFS collab recently with an actual M3 GTR?
VA: It’s an absolute dream come true. That is what a lot of people have been waiting for. It’s truly a legendary moment for auto enthusiasts and Need for Speed fans.
SH: What hero car would you like to see in future NFS games?
VA: I think the world-building in NFS really excited the long-time fans. EA makes mentions and nods to past characters. I think a very tasteful is key. The way the M3 was brought into Heat as the boss car was really nice.
Maybe a hero car appears in a random story race, which is harder but yields a greater reward. It would be cool to race against Eddie’s GTR or Darius’s R8.
It really strikes a nostalgic chord when EA acknowledges the hero cars of the past.
Most Wanted – Sweden
Speedhunters: So Jim, tell us how old were you when you played Most Wanted, and what made it stand out to you?
Jim Tengström: Oh man, I think it wasn’t too long after it got released, so it must have been back in ’05. That was 19 years ago, so I was 19. Man, time flies, and I’m too old! If you mean the game by itself, I would have to say the storyline and the concept of it.
SH: What makes the M3 GTR the ultimate hero car vs. other Need for Speed cars?
JT: It’s just one of the baddest race cars that has ever been built. I mean, it really ticks all the boxes with the full aero, cage, crazy wing, and the iconic side exhaust throwing flames when you’re on full throttle and bashing gears through the sequential gearbox. On top of that, it is a really good-looking livery.
SH: How long have you owned your BMW, and how difficult has the journey been making it into a Most Wanted tribute car?
JT: I’ve owned the M3 for eight years now. It’s a tough question to answer, and it’s really related to how you choose to view it. There are always going to be challenges along the way, but when you really enjoy it doesn’t feel difficult. My challenges have mostly been time-related. Everyone who has worked on cars knows that everything takes longer than you plan for, so in my case, when I have set myself some hard deadlines, it has automatically generated too many late nights in the garage to make it happen in time, especially before the reveal at Elmia, Sweden’s biggest car show.
In today’s era, you can pretty much buy everything to build a replica, but the body kits can be outrageously expensive and often have long delivery times. Keep in mind that my car is far from an accurate replica – it’s just my interpretation of something that shares many similarities with the real race car, and I managed to still have it street-legal in Sweden.
SH: What’s been the reaction to it from other gamers and car fans?
JT: It’s been truly amazing, and I was really shocked about how many enthusiasts have the real NFS car as their dream car and that my car brought back so many memories for them. It was simply amazing, and I couldn’t be happier about that. That’s what it’s all about creating good emotions and laughter along the way.
SH: What do you think about the BMW x NFS collab recently with an actual M3 GTR?
JT: Absolutely bananas! I have been really fortunate and had the opportunity to ride in an actual BMW Motorsport chassis M3 CSL, and in my mind, that’s the closest you can get to an actual GTR race car. It truly was something else. And now, to see an actual GTR race car with that livery, it’s just a complete dream!
SH: What hero car would you like to see in future NFS games?
JT: Do we need another hero car? To me, the M3 GTR is always going to be the ultimate hero car, but, of course, the story has to go on. It’s a hard question to answer, but I would love to see another race car. If it had to be a classic, I would be thinking about a Porsche 911 DTM race car or something similar.
Most Wanted – Malaysia
Speedhunters: Nikhael, your M3 GTR tribute already has a huge following across social media. How old were you when you played Most Wanted, and what made it stand out to you?
Michael Neil: As a child, I was not allowed to play video games or have gaming consoles. The Need for Speed games were always games that I would play at computer shops here and there, if anything. So, my actual gameplay and experience as a child playing Most Wanted was not there.
However, I always loved how the car looked and how the car sounded in the game. As a child (five years old at the time of the release ), the Most Wanted GTR, alongside the R34 from 2 Fast 2 Furious, were two cars I always dreamt of owning one day.
SH: What makes the M3 GTR the ultimate hero car vs. other Need For Speed cars?
NN: Honestly, I can’t really answer this genuinely since I didn’t actually have much gameplay with the car. But seeing the footage and hearing the noise, it’s one of the stand-outs from the series.
SH: How long have you owned your BMW, and how difficult has the journey been making it into a Most Wanted tribute car?
NN: I’ve had the E46 for a year now. In early 2023, I purchased the R34 to commemorate and pay tribute to the late Paul Walker. The R34 was branded as a G Spec PW (Paul Walker edition )
With this project ongoing, I decided that it would be a dream come true to also build a Most Wanted GTR for Need for Speed’s 30th anniversary. This allowed me to accomplish both my childhood dream cars within the same year.
The first hiccup was the body kit. I couldn’t find any 100% accurate body kits online, so J Wide Bodykits and I decided to craft our own. We spent seven months completing the kit but made a few small mistakes along the way.
With the bodykit completed, the next step will be to achieve a similar engine and gearbox sound. We are currently preparing for this.
SH: What’s been the reaction to your replica from other gamers and car fans?
NN: So far, the reactions have been incredible, especially seeing both the R34 and E46 together. It’s really nostalgic to see both cars together, and since I’m the first in Malaysia to have a Most Wanted GTR replica, fans are going crazy about it.
SH: What do you think about the BMW x NFS collab recently with an actual M3 GTR?
NN: I’ve always been a huge fan of BMW, and alongside that, I was stunned when they made an actual M3 GTR into the Most Wanted hero car. This is good for me as well because I can use this actual car to fine-tune my replica build. Before this, I only had access to game photos, which aren’t 100% accurate.
SH: What hero car would you like to see in future NFS games?
NN: Definitely the M3 GTR again! It’s not Need for Speed without it!
The Speedhunters
Instagram: thespeedhunters