BMW Motorsport unveiled its latest competition car at the 2015 Frankfurt IAA motorshow. The all-new M6 GT3 is set to enter competition at the start of the 2016 season and will be fielded by a number of teams in various GT championships, including the BMW Sports Trophy.
The new GT3 racer replaces the highly successful Z4 GT3, and unlike its predecessor, retains its production base engine. The net price of the car is €379,000 (US$428,971).
“The BMW M6 Coupe production model provided us with the perfect basis for developing our new GT racing car,” said BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt. “The heart of the BMW M6 GT3, its engine, has been transferred from the production car with only minor modifications. Furthermore, the car sets new benchmarks when it comes to safety – with a completely re-designed front, a large distance to the safety cage, and the driver’s seat oriented well towards the centre of the car. With the BMW M6 GT3, our customer racing teams can look forward to thoroughbred motor racing technology. The BMW M6 GT3 incorporates many findings from works racing projects, while at the same time being cost-oriented towards customer racing. The BMW M6 GT3 is BMW’s most economic GT racing car ever: with significantly lower running costs than its predecessor the BMW Z4 GT3, as well as longer lifecycles for cost-intensive parts – and all that while at the same time increasing performance. And let’s not forget the design: with its athletic lines, the BMW M6 GT3 is a real eye-catcher. I am confident that we are excellently positioned for the future with this top model in our customer racing range.”
The sub-1,300kg M6 GT3 is powered by an engine based on the P63 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 found in the road car. Modifications to the engine are limited to an uprated air/ air intercooler and the inclusion of a dry sump lubrication system. In the GT3, this is mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox with Zytek actuator and Ricardo developed transaxle. BMW state that the M6 GT3 has undergone an extensive programme of testing on a variety of circuits over the course of 2015. The car is now undergoing a final round of ‘fine-tuning’ prior to its race debut in the coming year.
