| |
| BMW M3 GT2 | |
|---|---|
| Race Car | |
| Category | American Le Mans Series GT2 (then GT in 2010) 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro |
| Constructor | BMW |
| Designer | Jeff Koons (2010 LM24 Art Car) |
| Predecessor | {{{Predecessor}}} |
| Successor | BMW Z4 GTE |
| Chassis | Unitary construction steel body with welded safety cell made of extremely rigid precision steel tubing; safety fuel tank in CRP sandwich tray; pneumatic four-stamp jack system |
| Suspension (front) | ZF Sachs based on production version, with increased wheel caster angle, enlarged track width and enhanced wheel camber; five-way adjustable shock absorbers; tubular stabilizer bar |
| Suspension (rear) | ZF Sachs based on production version, with enlarged track width and enhanced wheel camber; five-way adjustable shock absorbers, tubular stabilizer bar |
| Engine | BMW P65B40 4.0 L (4,000 cc; 244 cu in) V8 90° cylinder angle, 32-valve, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, naturally aspirated, front engined, longitudinally mounted |
| Electric_motor | {{{Electric motor}}} |
| Battery | {{{Battery}}} |
| Power | 460 hp (343 kW) @ 7500 rpm (ALMS air restrictor)
500 hp (373 kW) @ 8750 rpm (2010+) |
| Transmission | Hewland/Xtrac 6-speed sequential manual (2009-2010)/semi-automatic (2011-2012) gearbox, mechanical limited slip differential with additional oil/air cooler |
| Weight | 1,245 kg (2,745 lb) maximum including driver and fuel |
| Fuel | Ethanol E85 + Petronas Primax 15% gasoline |
| Brakes | {{{Brakes}}} |
| Tyres | Dunlop SP Sport Maxx Front: 30/66 – R18 Rear: 31/71 – R18 Rays Engineering aluminum wheels Front: 12 x 18 inches Rear: 13 x 18 inches |
| Notable entrants |  / BMW Rahal Letterman Racing (later BMW Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2011)
|
| Notable drivers | Dirk Müller Tommy Milner Joey Hand Bill Auberlen Jörg Müller Dirk Werner Andy Priaulx Augusto Farfus
|
| Debut | 2009 12 Hours of Sebring |
| Races competed | 38 |
| Race victories | 7 |
| Podiums | {{{Podiums}}} |
| Constructors' Championships | 2 |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 |
| Pole positions | N/A |
| Fastest laps | N/A |
BMW Motorsport announced in February 2008 that Rahal Letterman Racing will campaign two factory-backed E92 M3s in the American Le Mans Series in 2009, following a two-year absence by the brand. The cars are homologated for the GT2 category. Schnitzer Motorsport entered 2 cars at the 1000 km of Spa and finished 4th after a move by the Ferrari in the final corner. For 2010, BMW Motorsport has been granted entry in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the 2010 24 Hours Nürburgring. BMW Motorsport/Schnitzer Motorsport went onto to take an overall win at the 24 Hours Nürburgring with the #25 M3 GT2 of Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus, Pedro Lamy, and Uwe Alzen while the top competitors from Porsche and Audi dropped out one by one. In addition, one of the M3 GT2's that competed at Le Mans (#79) has been chosen as the 17th BMW Art Car, which will be done by American artist, Jeff Koons. At the 2010 24 Hours of Spa, BMW qualified 1st in class (2nd overall) and maintained 1st with the #79 car throughout the race until it succumbed to a suspension failure with just half an hour remaining, forcing them to give the overall lead to two Porsche 997 GT3-RSRs. The M3s still came 1st in the GTN class. The BMW M3s won the GT2 category in the ILMC 1000 km of Zhuhai. In 2011, the BMW achieved a 1-2 finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring. In the 2011 American Le Mans Series GT class, BMW Team RLL swept all categories, winning the GT manufacturer, team and driver championships. They contest another year in the ALMS GT class, coming off of another fantastic win at the 2012 60th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. The M3 GT2 was succeeded by the BMW Z4 GTE, an LMGTE specification racing car alongside the Group GT3 spec BMW Z4 GT3. The Z4 GTE started racing at the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring.
Gallery[]
BMW M3 GT In Pop Culture[]
- The BMW M3 GT2 was featured in Forza Motorsport 4. The player could customise the cars appearance and perfermence but could not add wings or splitters like on most other cars.
- The BMW M3 GT2 was also featured in Grand Turismo 5. The car (like most cars in the game) can not be customised but it is very powerful.
- A BMW M3 GT2 was used as the cover car for Need For Speed Shift.
See also[]
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This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at BMW M3. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
External links[]
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