There’s rare, and then there’s the M3 GTR Strassenversion. For years, we believed BMW built 10 of these at €250,000 apiece. In truth, the only E46 3 Series ever fitted with a V8 from the factory is even rarer than that. Indeed, just three are out there, and BMW owns them all.
One of those cars has now been taken out of BMW’s garage for a spin around the company’s Munich headquarters. Interestingly, the German automaker chose to blur the license plate of its M3 powered by a race car’s engine. Frustratingly, someone thought it wise to overlay music instead of letting the P60B40’s soundtrack shine through.
Still, we do get a brief taste of the naturally aspirated 4.0-liter V8. The high-revving engine was derived from the namesake race car but detuned to 351 hp and 365 Nm (269 lb-ft). The Strassenversion also swapped the sequential gearbox for a six-speed manual with a twin-disc clutch and variable limited-slip differential.
If you know your M3s, several visual cues distinguish the GTR from the standard E46. BMW adapted the race car’s front skirt, reworked the rear bumper, and added a towering carbon rear wing above a trunk lid spoiler. The hood vents are another obvious giveaway.
Beyond the three surviving examples, BMW built seven development prototypes, but all were scrapped. That makes the M3 GTR one of the rarest cars ever to wear the roundel, even more exclusive than the mid-engined M1, of which 460 were made. All three were finished in Titan Silver and had their rear seats removed to shave weight.
The M3 GTR will forever be remembered as the hero car from Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and we can only hope BMW gives the most special E46 more time in the spotlight. There hasn’t been much coverage of this elusive M3 in the 25 years since its debut.
Like the M1 before it, the M3 GTR was a homologation special, essentially a race car for the road. With no air conditioning or radio, it offered a raw, unfiltered experience only a handful of BMW insiders ever got to enjoy. The rest of us will have to make do with a controller in hand or videos like this one on repeat.
Video: BMW Classic / Instagram
