- "Famous in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, ALMS, and ILMC. The M3-based competition machine."
- ―In-game catch text for the car, from GT7's car collection
The BMW M3 GT '11 is a race car produced by BMW. It appears in Gran Turismo 6, Gran Turismo Sport (as part of Update 1.28), and Gran Turismo 7.
It appears to be the #1, entered by BMW Motorsport (reflected in the name it had prior to GT7, BMW M3 GT (BMW Motorsport) '11) and driven by Jörg Muller, Augusto Farfus, Uwe Alzen and Pedro Lamy, who finished the 2011 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2nd place overall, but won the FIA GT2 class.
Description[]
- "As the name suggests, the M3 GT is a race car based on the venerable M3. It was developed for the FIA GT2 category, which allows cars to be significantly modified. Under its hood was a tuned V-8 that pumped out 493.1 HP, which represents a slight increase from the base car. It also weighed a lot less than the road car, thanks to copious use of carbon-fiber in the body panels. The combination proved successful as it took the overall title at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2010."
- ―In-game description of the car, from GT7's Brand Central
Car Index (GT7)[]
While the 1st generation E30 series BMW M3 was a special model, created specifically to pass the homologation for Group A touring cars, the following 2nd generation and later models were simply sold as high-performance versions of the 3 series. BMW did, however, still provide special cars for racing based on these 2nd generation and later M3s.
For the 4th generation E92, two racing M3s meeting GT4 and GT2 FIA regulations were prepared. The car made to match GT2 regulations, with the increased modifications, the M3 GT2, was the fastest M3 ever developed.
The street spec E92 M3 is one size larger than the previous E46, and its weight was increased by 80 kg at 1,630 kg. However the engine was changed from a 3.2 L V6 to a 4.0 L V8, greatly increasing power from the 338 BHP of the standard E46 M3 to 414 BHP.
Based on this car, the M3 GT2 is given carbon front/rear wheel arches, bonnet, boot lid, and front/rear bumpers which reduces the vehicle weight down to 1,245 kg. Both front and rear wheel arches are enlarged, making the car 4 inches wider. The front bumper incorporates air dams, and a large rear wing is added to complete this full competition race car. With a 1 inches restrictor installed, the V8 unit produces over 493 BHP and 50 kgfm torque.
BMW ran this car in the ALMS and ILMC series, and other 24-hour races in the 2010 race season. The car dominated the GT Class of the ALMS, and achieved overall victories at the Nürburgring 24-hour race and the ILMC Zhuhai 1000 km.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo 6 | BMW Dealership | 350,000 | --- |
| Gran Turismo Sport (  v1.28+) |
BMW Brand Central | 450,000 | Sign a contract with BMW for the Manufacturer Series.[1] |
| Gran Turismo 7 | BMW Brand Central | 600,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
- In Gran Turismo 6, it is available as a courtesy car in Arcade Mode; using it at least once is required to unlock the the base model variant.
- The "BMW recommends Castrol EDGE" text on the rear appears to be written in the MS PGothic font, different from the font used in real-life.
Notes[]
- ↑ As GT Sport's servers has been shut down on January 31, 2024, and as the last Manufacturer Series race in GT Sport was held on December 25, 2021, it is no longer possible to obtain the car this way.