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CLP Automotive gives your BMW M3 race-ready looks

Zach Bowman — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:28:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Europe, BMW

Modifying a high-performance vehicle like the BMW M3 is a tricky feat. With all the engineering prowess of one of the world's most successful manufacturers behind every nut and bolt on the car, tweaking the recipe can easily lead to diminished performance. Even so, CLP Automotive has turned out a new widebody kit for the M3 Coupe that the aftermarket company is calling the M3 GT. According to our trusty Google Translator, the total package includes a front apron, hood, front fenders and side skirts. A set of 19-inch wheels are also part of the get up.

But the M3 GT isn't all about looking pretty at the prom. Under the hood, the engine has been tweaked up to around 600 horsepower thanks to the miracle of forced induction, and a set of Bilstein shocks give the vehicle a little more precision on the track. CLP Automotive says the whole conversion will set you back around €69,000, or $97,034 at current conversion rates.

CLP Automotive gives your BMW M3 race-ready looks originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: BMW to replace M3 sedan with M3 Gran Turismo?!

Zach Bowman — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Europe, Hatchback, BMW, Rumormill, Luxury

Allow us to start by saying that we love high-performance hatchbacks and wagons as much as the next auto-obsessed goon. Heck, we still go all gooey-kneed when we lay eyes on a Lexus IS300 SportCross, but the rumors dusting up over the next-generation M3 have us a little uneasy. According to Inside Line and M3Post, BMW may be looking to replace the slow-selling M3 sedan with a new GT body style. That means that designers are looking to spread the funky lines of the 5-Series Gran Turismo to other models in the company's stable, including as a replacement for the disappointingly slow-selling M3 sedan.

With that high-revving V8 likely on its way out the door in favor of a turbocharged I6 and the threat of the 5-Series GT's design spreading to the company's holiest of holy high performance models, we've got to wonder exactly where there decision makers at BMW have their heads lodged. We've got our guesses.

Inside Line has gone so far as to work up a few renderings of what the M3 Quasimodo edition might look like. It's worth heading over there to check out the full-size pieces for the full (rendered) effect. Thanks for the tip, Tim!

[Sources: Inside Line, M3Post]

Rumormill: BMW to replace M3 sedan with M3 Gran Turismo?! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW M3 GTS unveiled!

Noah Joseph — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:55:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, BMW

BMW M3 GTS - Click above for high-res image gallery

Well that was fast. As well it should be. Because what you're looking at is the most hardcore roadgoing M3 to date. It's called the GTS - not, as had been previously speculated, the CSL, GT or GT4 Street - and after seeing a few spy shots and some speculated details, BMW has just released its first official information on the most extreme machine in its stable.

The eye-catching orange paintjob is a throwback to extreme Bimmers of yore. But after you look past the timely Halloween color scheme, you'll notice a set of exclusive 19-inch competition alloys - coated with 225/35 rubber up front and 285/30 in the rear - protruding out of the bulging bodywork, housing six-piston calipers up front and four in the rear and mounted to yellow springs and an adjustable suspension. You can hardly miss the giant front splitter and rear wing protruding from either end, and the interior's been stripped down with contoured racing buckets, an emergency cut-off switch and a fire extinguisher taking the place of the air-con, nav and radio, along with mounting points for a roll cage and six-point harnesses and a Macrolon rear windscreen to replace the stock glass, helping the M3 GTS tip the scales at just 1490 kg (3285 lbs), some 419 lbs less than the stock M3 coupe's 3704-lb curb weight.

First deliveries are scheduled to begin in Germany next May, carrying a sticker price of 115,000 euros (about $170k) before taxes. Official engine specs haven't been released, but we're still looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 horsepower from an enlarged 4.4-liter V8, driving through the Bavarian automaker's 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. That's about all Munich has given us so far, but we've got a gallery of photos and a video after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Gallery: BMW M3 GTS

[Source: BMW M division]

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BMW M3 GTS unveiled! originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: $170k BMW M3 GT/GT4 Street probably not coming to U.S.

Noah Joseph — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, BMW

BMW M3 GT4 - Click above for high-res image gallery

No three letters get Bimmer fans as riled up as CSL. The initials have historically been applied to lightweight, performance-focused versions of BMW's most extreme machinery. But while BMW isn't currently offering any CSL models for public consumption, the emergence of an M5 CSL and spy shots of a potential M3 CSL have Munich's followers frothing at the mouth.

The former turned out to be a one-of-a-kind special. But details on the latter are beginning to circulate, and they look promising. Firstly, sources suggest that the model won't wear the CSL designation at all, and instead be labeled either M3 GT or M3 GT4 Street, in reference to the homologated racing version.

First, the good stuff: the engine is tipped to be tuned in the neighborhood of 450 horsepower, give or take, driven exclusively through the 7-speed dual clutch transmission with no manual expected to be on offer. Stopping power is anticipated to come from Brembo 6-piston calipers up front and 4-pots in the rear gripping slotted steel discs, and while carbon-ceramics may be on the options list, the jury's still out on when BMW will roll out the production version of its F1-derived Kinetic Energy Recovery System, a.k.a. regenerative braking. Recaro buckets and the removal of the rear seats should help the M3 GT (or whatever it will be called) shed some 220 lbs of weight, sitting 25mm lower on BBS alloys mounted to a Sachs suspension with standard roll bars.

The prototype is said to have already lapped the Nurburgring in 7:40, with testing still underway in France. Targeting the Porsche 911 GT3, the hard-core M3 will be extremely limited in production - possibly as few as 25 examples annually - available directly from BMW Motorsport but certified for road use - at a price point hovering around 110,000 euros ($172k). Unfortunately, the signs suggest that it won't be making the transatlantic voyage Stateside. Thanks to Tim for the tip!

[Source: M3Post.com]

Rumormill: $170k BMW M3 GT/GT4 Street probably not coming to U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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