Classic cars with history: meet the BMW M3 E46 GTR

Do you know the story of the BMW M3 E46 GTR? Now, a unit of this coveted model has just appeared for sale in Australia. This unicorn, called the BMW M3 E46 GTR, is from 2001 and was born from a collaboration between BMW North America and Prototype Technology Group, PTG, led by Tom Milner, in order to compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series and thus dethrone Porsche in the ALMS.

As a result of this collaboration, five units of the legendary BMW M3 E46 GTR were built. As proof, the unit that has just come up for sale has chassis number #005. The first three units were prototypes that used a version of the S54 engine, a 3.4-litre straight-six, from the road-legal BMW M3 E46.

The unit now for sale is equipped with a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8 engine. This V8 features individual throttle bodies, a double-row timing chain, hollow camshafts and a Siemens engine control unit. Nor can we forget the semi-dry sump oil system and twin air intakes.

BMW M3 E46 GTR, a unicorn appears

This genuine yet unusual BMW made its track debut on 3 November 2001, specifically at the Daytona 3 Hour Grand Am Finale. It finished 15th in the GT Class and set the fastest lap. In 2002, it took part in the 24 Hours of Daytona and completed them. It also competed in the 2002 Grand Am 400 Miles in California and the 2003 24 Hours of Bathurst. It was unable to finish that race after suffering wheel damage.

Young Timers Garage has also revealed that the car was retired after its retirement from the 2003 24 Hours of Bathurst. Since then, the unit now advertised for sale has been on display in the current owner’s collection. In addition, the sale of this sports car includes a large set of parts and accessories that were originally supplied to the racing teams. For the moment, no public sale price has been published.

The unit for sale is white and has no racing livery. It is worth noting that the V8 engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. In addition to these five racing units, BMW had to build ten road-going units to legitimise its participation in competition. Ten special units called the BMW M3 GTR Strassenversion were built, which sold for 250,000 euros in 2002.

Furthermore, in 2005 it appeared in the video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted as the main sports car.