New 'Ring record: BMW M3 CSL laps in 7:22.8 seconds
The era of 'Ring attacks has begun. Next atop the heap of Nord-lappers is a lightweight, supercharged BMW M3 CSL that took a full five seconds off the Pagani Zonda F's best run. The car has, of course, been modified, but the changes aren't outrageous -- you might see more extreme mods at your local M3 gathering.
The incredible thing is that the car puts out 532.7 rear-wheel horsepower and weighs 3,139 pounds with thirty liters of fuel. That means it has 70 fewer HP and weighs 400 pounds more than the Pagani Zonda F it dethroned. The car can't be faster down the straights, so this must be all in the corners. We wouldn't mind seeing videos of the two laps side-by-side to find out where the BMW leaves its Italian competition behind.
And get this: you can win this car in an auction. The Loaded.se team is putting the car up via bid2aid.com, and to win you have to place the lowest unique bid. That means that whatever you bid needs to be the only bid of that amount. Crazy concept for an auction, so good luck with your bid of $.02. Check out the video after the jump and see what you think.
Thanks for the tip, Maestro1!
[Source: Carscoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
bmw122487 3:32PM (11/20/2007)
M-POWER!!!!!!!!!!
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nissanfreak87 3:34PM (11/20/2007)
can we bid fractions of a cent? that's impressive, I'd really, really, really like to see the mods on that thing, and know who the driver was.
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HotRodzNKustoms 3:46PM (11/20/2007)
Anybody know what a car along the lines of a ALMS car such as a lola or maybe even the GT1 'vettes would do round the ring? I have a hard time grasping the meaning of these lap times when we are comparing street cars to street cars.
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Chase 4:04PM (11/20/2007)
The GT1 cars in ALMS would probably make under 7:00.
ant 12:01AM (11/21/2007)
Lap record is 6:11 in a Porsche 956. Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqFrqLBcCGk
More laptimes from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordschleife_fastest_lap_times
balogna 3:49PM (11/20/2007)
Is it that astounding? The M3 is pretty heavily modified, and the driver is pushing very hard.
The Pagani driver was taking it much easier... he had the TC on!
It is difficult to compare a quasi race car to a production street car...
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Brett- BMW Advo 4:06PM (11/20/2007)
Yes this is astounding! regardless of its modifications, this car can be driven on the street.
if the Pagani wants another go, he should go without TC, different tires apparently and a some bigger "guts".
Go M-Power!!
hoyasCS08 4:23PM (11/20/2007)
The #1 difference - the BMW on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup R (race compound) tires vs the stock Zonda on streetable Michelin Pilot Sport 2's. The stock zonda tires allow ~1.05g of cornering force vs. ~1.5g for the BMW's R-compounds. This alone accounts for at least 20 seconds. No real comparison here.
Whitie 6:59PM (11/20/2007)
Check out the high negative camber on this beast. Not exactly a street setup, but I'm sure it powers through corners like it was meant to be.
RobZ4 7:45PM (11/20/2007)
I think is astounding considering the huge price difference between the 2 cars and the humble beginnings of the M3 ( it is after all based on the 3 series model) .Yes I know what everybody is saying about the R compound tires and the mods of the car but what were you expecting ? To beat a $ 300,000 supercar that has more power and even a better power to weight ratio than a Ferrari Enzo and do that on street tires ?......c'mon people let's be real.
Chase 3:56PM (11/20/2007)
I can almost guarantee that this one had stickier tires than the Zonda. The average speed through most of the bends on the nordschleife is between 45 and 80 mph. At that kind of speed, having beyond 400 hp has very little effect with even the best street tires. -- On the nordschleife, A 400 hp car with some really sticky slicks (which could barely last five laps) would completely destroy even a 1000 hp car that has street tires.
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hoyaCS08 4:02PM (11/20/2007)
Agreed - the stats say the BMW was on R-compound tires (Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Rs) which can account for most of the difference. Also consider the stated HP is rear-wheel (add 10-15% for flywheel comparison with the zonda) and that the M3 was HEAVILY modified in other ways - completely new suspension and subframe, much wider tires (265/295), revised aero, huge brakes... basically a barely-streetable race car
rx7 r1 6:22PM (11/20/2007)
Props to the M3 but that thing its not even street legal.
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MPL 4:04PM (11/20/2007)
Well when you take into account 10-15% loss of power in the drivetrain, the horsepower figures are pretty close. And I agree with Chase, a pair of slicks vs. street tires makes a world of difference. I mean it is an interesting story, but I'm not wetting my pants over it.
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stefan 4:06PM (11/20/2007)
The mine's gtr R34 would kick that things ass from here to tokyo.
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James 5:48PM (11/20/2007)
haha, I saw a videof the Mine's R34 GT-R and it revs ridiculously fast. The best part was that the driver blatantly ignored the redline and the tech spun way past 8k.
bert 5:52PM (11/20/2007)
lol. Unfortunately it DIDN'T. The Mine's skyline, like the myth around many other japanese tuners (note I said 'myth'), is hype for kids who don't have real goals and spend their days fantasizing about cars and end up with deadend jobs.
RichQY 4:08PM (11/20/2007)
Comparing this to the Zonda F clubsport is simply retarded, how is that a record if the car is running on Michelin Pilot Cups, which are R compound tires.
This tire is easily 2-3 seconds per minute quicker than street tire that "stock" Zonda F was running on.
Additionally, according to the original post on Carscoop, the M3 dynoed at 532 RWHP, which should be compared to the Zonda's RWHP under similar testing conditions not the "engine HP" or "crank horsepower".
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xspeedy 5:14PM (11/20/2007)
Look at the extreme negative camber on the front end - that is far from realistic from the street.
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info 7:58AM (11/21/2007)
Is there any race track in this world that comes even remotely close to the Nürburgring Nordschleife?
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