Chicago 2008: BMW back in ALMS with Rahal Letterman Racing M3 [w/VIDEO]
by Chris Shunk on Feb 6th 2008 at 5:59PM 
click above to view more high-res live shots of BMW M3 ALMS race car
The American Le Mans Series is going to get a dose of Bavarian brilliance in 2009, as Bobby Rahal and David Letterman are teaming up to bring the fourth-generation M3 to the racing series. To properly battle the best competition in ALMS, BMW bumps the power quotient of its high-revving 4.0L V8 from 414 to 485 ponies, but brute force is just one facet of the M3's attack plan. The already outstanding chassis of the M3 has been further enhanced for the track, and weight has been reduced to make the deadly M even more nimble.BMW also employed its extensive F1 knowledge into the M-racer, including computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel analyses to make the carbon fiber-winged M3 slip freely through the air. BMW Motorsport is still tweaking the M3 racer in advance of the 2009 season, and the car will be taken through its paces by Andy Priaulx, Jorg Muller and Augusto Farfus of FIA World Touring Car Championship fame. Since the previous two generations of M3 hold six manufacturers championships in nine years of US sports car racing, we're guessing this baddest M3 ever will continue to be a handful for the competition. If it drives as well as it looks, Mr. Rahal should be a happy man.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
SPF 6:02PM (2/06/2008)
Nice!!! I call shotgun.
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RCavaretti 6:09PM (2/06/2008)
Cool! Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, Corvette, Aston Martin, maybe Saleen, maybe Viper, (and others) and now BMW. Good mix of machinery.
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mk 6:22PM (2/06/2008)
Aside from the lights being exactly the same, this car looks much better than the street car, especially the bottom edge of the air dam on the front.
Not bad.
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Maestro1 6:21PM (2/06/2008)
Bring on the Trophies!!!
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sportsracer-5 6:45PM (2/06/2008)
I hope it belches flames like the previous gen ALMS M3s did.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 7:00PM (2/06/2008)
Which class is it in? I presume GT2.
This sounds like far too much car for GT2. They'll likely win a lot of races until IMSA puts enough penalties on them to slow them down.
2009 WTF?
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Luis 7:15PM (2/06/2008)
The more the merrier...
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Lubo 7:41PM (2/06/2008)
BMW is the best :)
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Ben 8:58PM (2/06/2008)
i hope this has iDrive....
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Johnnie 9:37PM (2/06/2008)
I'm guessing GT3 class.
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Johnnie 9:38PM (2/06/2008)
ooops, I meant GT2 class.
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Mike 9:43PM (2/06/2008)
I seem to remember Rahal appearing on Letterman back in the late 80s. He joked about how the cops wouldn't give him a pass when he got busted driving fast in his white M3 (an E30).
It's ironic how the two men and a white M3 come together again.
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celeritas 11:00PM (2/06/2008)
Ferrari F430's and Porsche GT3 RSR's race in GT2 as well so BMW should have some stiff competition.
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3seriesisking 11:19PM (2/06/2008)
So very nice. Can't wait to see this baby in action against some of the best racers out there.
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Fooman 1:07AM (2/07/2008)
Well at least no one can complain this time when BMW puts a V8 in the M3. The last gen was pretty much banned from racing since BMW tried to convince everyone the v-8 was "ahem" stock (10gtr's that never where sold to the public for homogloten was kind a stretch)... This of course caused the ALMS rule change in 2002 to 100 cars and 1,000 engines. Basically Porsche was but hurt because they where getting whooped.
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Hank 4:44AM (2/07/2008)
Don't forget the Ford GT in the lineup also guys.
But yeah, this M3 does sound like it's a lil too much for GT2 class.
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Franz 3:17AM (2/07/2008)
It'll be nice to have M3s back in ALMS.
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TheOne442 10:24AM (2/07/2008)
ALMS is the new NASCAR, at least the NASCAR from the 40's 50's and 60's
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Merritt Johnson 6:53PM (2/07/2008)
It is sad to see that PTG won't be running the BMWs in ALMS. They switched over to Panoz when the E46 M3 finished its run. I was always hoping they would swtich back upon release of the new model. Although I guess Rahal Letterman has plenty of racing experience it won't be the same without the PTG drivers. It will be different to see a BMW without Bill Auberlen or Joey Hand at the helm.
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Cap2501 2:26PM (2/08/2008)
So heres to hoping this is a basis for the new CSL.
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