The BMW M3 GTR (E46) is a road-legal homologation produced by BMW to allow the V8-powered M3 GTR race car to compete in the 2002 American Le Mans Series season. It had a limited production run of 10 units and was engineered as a near perfect replication of the racing M3 GTR.
The car shares many of the weight saving aspects from the race car which it is based on. Large amounts of carbon fibre are used on the body for parts such as the roof and the rear spoiler, which also improves the car's aerodynamics in much the same manner as the race car. The street variant has nearly no forms or manifestations of comfort equipment.
The 4 litre V8 engine is similar to the V8 engine used in the racing car although it has been adapted and altered to meet emission standards as well as noise regulations.
The street variant features a few extra additions over the race car such as additional bonnet cooling slits, road-sport suspension, dry sump lubrication, a two-disc sport clutch, and a variable M differential.
Despite BMW's efforts, ALMS rules were changed for the 2002 season and required that at least 100 units and 1,000 engines be built for a car to qualify for the season, forcing BMW to withdraw from the series.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
The BMW M3 GTR (Street) appears in the Black Edition release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. It can only be used in Quick Race and cannot be customised.
The Street model's performance is inferior to its Race counterpart and therefore not suitable for competing against the fastest cars in the game.
It has decent acceleration due to its short gear ratio, making its performance on par with cars such as the Lamborghini Murciélago. It also has a great handling making it a great car for twisty tracks. Nitrous is equipped as standard.
The M3 GTR (Street) is unlocked in the Game Boy Advance release once the player beats Blacklist Racer #1 - Razor.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0
The M3 GTR (Street) appears in Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 and is unlocked upon defeating Blacklist Racer #3 - Ronald"Ronnie" McCrea. It can be purchased for $250,000.
The car has a powerful acceleration but an average top speed and a handling rating lower than the vehicles of other high-ranked Blacklist racers.
Need for Speed: World
The BMW M3 GTR (Street) was added into the car dealership on March 5, 2010 during the first closed beta as a tier 3 vehicle. Since August 22, 2012, it has been featured as a B class vehicle.
The M3 GTR performs well within its class due to well rounded performance traits including a powerful nitrous boost and good handling. It can master high-speed as well as low-speed corners quickly thanks to sufficient traction and a high steering precision.
In terms of acceleration, it can keep up with other B Class cars, although it might be lacking to A class cars with high overall ratings. Top speed is 186 mph (300 km/h).
Players may find the car to be a valuable competitor for racing. Despite its underwhelming power, the M3 GTR has better handling than most in-game cash offered cars such as the Ford GT, which has somewhat stiff handling. The Lotus Evora outperforms the M3 GTR but is also less useful in police chases because of a lighter body.
0
E
250
251
D
400
401
C
500
501
B
600
601
A
750
751
S
1000
584720
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| Stock: 584 (B class) | Maximum: 720 (A class) |
Silver | |||
The Silver style is a performance tuned speedboost car that costs  4000. It was made available as part of the first closed beta session.
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Blue | |||
The Blue style is a rotationally available stock cash car that costs  1,400,000.
It was released on July 27th, 2010 as a replacement for the Black style, which in turn had been available in several beta test sessions prior. A Driver Level of 40 was required before a player could purchase it, but this requirement was removed on August 22, 2012.
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World (Rental) | |||
The World style is a rental car that can be leased for 300. It was made available on July 27, 2010.
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World (Cash) | |||
| The World style is a previous rental only car that can be purchased for 700,000. It was made available on June 1, 2015 as part of the End of the World event.
It is fitted with an aftermarket lowering kit.
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Limited Edition | |||
| The Limited Edition style is an art director car that was never released.
It is not fitted with any performance parts, but does feature several aftermarket parts and a unique "Limited Edition" livery.
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Most Wanted | |||
| The Most Wanted style is a Need for Speed Classic car that costs 5900. It was briefly made available without notice on June 18, 2013, but was promptly removed and highlighted as a mistake on the part of Easy Studios.
It later was available through a limited time offer as part of a special BMW celebration lasting from March 6th to March 9, 2015. It is fitted with unique performance parts, Skill Mods, and aftermarket parts.
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Trivia
- The BMW M3 GTR (Street) is occasionally used by the AI opponents in Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
- The BMW M3 GTR appeared in several Need for Speed: World beta sessions with a body kit based on its racing model and a red leather interior.
- A free one-week M3 GTR rental code was released as part of a celebration of the 75,000 likes milestone achieved on the Need for Speed: World Facebook page. It was redeemable from December 2 to December 14, 2011.
- Another free 7-day rental code was released on March 7, 2012 on De Vellis' Facebook page as a celebration of achieving 7 million likes by the official Need for Speed page.
Media
Gallery
(Black Edition)
(GBA)
(Ronnie's)
(Silver)
(World)
(Most Wanted)
Sounds
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted | Need for Speed: World | |||