{"id":84896,"date":"2026-02-20T11:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84896"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:15:09","slug":"bmw-z4-gt3-nurburgring-24-hours-2026-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84896","title":{"rendered":"The BMW Z4 GT3 Is Coming Back to the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

The iconic BMW Z4 GT3 is making a comeback, and it\u2019s going straight to one of motorsport\u2019s most demanding stages: the 2026 N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours. After more than a decade away from top-level competition, the E89-based GT3 car \u2014 beloved by fans for its spine-tingling naturally aspirated V8 soundtrack \u2014 will line up on the Nordschleife grid this May. The comeback is being spearheaded by private outfit Saugmotoren Motorsport.<\/p>\n

A Legendary Car Returns<\/h3>\n

\"BMW<\/a><\/p>\n

BMW Motorsport retired the Z4 GT3 after the 2015 season<\/a>, a campaign that ended on the highest possible note with an outright victory at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The M6 GT3 took over from there<\/a>, but the Z4 never truly disappeared \u2014 private teams kept it alive in the years that followed, with Walkenhorst Motorsport leading the charge as the most prominent of those efforts.<\/p>\n

That connection to Walkenhorst<\/a> runs deep into this comeback as well. Henry Walkenhorst himself is one of the four drivers confirmed for the entry, joining team principal Mr. Saugmotoren, Christian Scherer, and Ralf Schall behind the wheel. Walkenhorst Motorsport has since shifted its factory alliance to Aston Martin, making this a passion project rather than a professional program \u2014 described as a team of \u201cfamily and friends\u201d rallying around a car they love.<\/p>\n

The Z4 GT3 last appeared at the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours with Walkenhorst in 2018, making the 2026 edition a long-overdue return to the Green Hell.<\/p>\n

The Underdog Factor<\/h3>\n

\"BMW<\/a><\/p>\n

Saugmotoren Motorsport will enter the Z4 GT3 in the SP9 class, putting it up against an armada of modern, factory-supported GT3 machinery. On paper, it\u2019s a David vs. Goliath situation \u2014 but on the Nordschleife, stranger things have happened.\u00a0How the Balance of Performance will be applied to a car of the Z4 GT3\u2019s vintage remains an open question, but the spirit of the entry is clear \u2014 this is a celebration of a special machine and the culture around it.<\/p>\n

BMW\u2019s Official 2026 N24 Plans Still Under Wraps<\/h3>\n

As for what BMW Motorsport will officially bring to the race weekend of May 14\u201317, that\u2019s still to be determined. The event does appear on BMW M Motorsport\u2019s racing calendar, but the entry is listed with a \u201ctba\u201d next to the team name, leaving the factory\u2019s full plans a mystery for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The iconic BMW Z4 GT3 is making a comeback, and it\u2019s going straight to one of motorsport\u2019s most demanding stages: the 2026 N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours. After more than a decade away from top-level competition, the E89-based GT3 car \u2014 beloved by fans for its spine-tingling naturally aspirated V8 soundtrack \u2014 will line up on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}