{"id":85452,"date":"2026-05-05T10:51:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T14:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85452"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T14:51:30","slug":"rare-bmw-m3-gtr-emerges-special-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85452","title":{"rendered":"Rare BMW M3 GTR Emerges From Hibernation For Special Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>BMW celebrates 40 years of the M3 with a special exhibition featuring the ultra-rare M3 E46 Strassenversion.<\/li>\n<li>Only 10 cars were ever made but seven were subsequently crushed. The remaining three are not in private hands as BMW owns them all.<\/li>\n<li>The unicorn M3 E46 had a V8 race car engine: the naturally aspirated P60B40.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>Yours truly isn\u2019t the only one turning 40 this year. The original M3 (E30) went on sale in 1986, and it\u2019s no surprise that BMW is celebrating the milestone. While there have been plenty of limited-run special editions over the past four decades, the GTR Strassenversion tops them all. Officially, 10 were made, but only three have survived the test of time.<\/p>\n<p>BMW crushed seven development prototypes and kept the three production-ready cars in its fleet. The street-legal M3 GTR was unveiled in 2001 with an eye-watering \u20ac250,000 sticker price. Legend has it that none of the surviving cars are in private hands. One of the three remaining examples was recently taken out of storage for a special exhibition in France.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-513116\" title=\"BMW M3 GTR STRASSENVERSION 9\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BMW M3 GTR STRASSENVERSION 9\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BMW-M3-GTR-Strassenversion-9-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The M3 GTR Strassenversion Is The Most Exotic M3 Of Them All<\/h3>\n<p>Rarer than hen\u2019s teeth, the M3 GTR Strassenversion made the trip to Paris, where the unobtanium E46 was displayed alongside three other generations. The M3 E30, M3 GT E36, and M3 Competition xDrive G80 were all there to highlight the anniversary. All four shared the spotlight under the glass roof of the Grand Palais. The exhibit marking 40 years of the M3 is part of a collaboration with Tour Auto, with BMW serving as an official partner of the event\u2019s 35th edition this year.<\/p>\n<p>The road-legal M3 GTR was even more desirable than the CSL, and not just because of its flat-plane-crank V8 engine. The naturally aspirated 4.0-liter unit, lifted straight from the race car, was paired with a six-speed manual gearbox rather than the CSL\u2019s SMG. In Strassenversion form, the P60B40 produced 346 hp and 365 Nm (269 lb-ft).<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the different engine and gearbox, the GTR also shed about 35 kg (77 lbs). In the end, it tipped the scales at just 1,350 kg (2,976 lbs). The weight savings came from removing the rear seats, air conditioning, and even the radio. BMW also made greater use of carbon fiber to strip away as much unnecessary mass as possible. It\u2019s safe to say it had all the ingredients of a true homologation special.<\/p>\n<h3>Another BMW M Model With A Race Car\u2019s Engine Is Unlikely To Happen<\/h3>\n<p>Given today\u2019s strict emissions regulations, it\u2019s hard to imagine BMW will ever fit a true race-car engine to a road-legal production model again. For the same reason, naturally aspirated engines are steadily becoming a thing of the past. At the same time, a V8 in an M3 is highly unlikely to return, so your only option is an E90\/E91\/E92 with the S65. Unmolested, low-mileage examples don\u2019t come cheap, as evidenced by a 725-mile coupe that recently fetched over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/04\/22\/725-mile-bmw-m3-coupe-competition-package-212k-sale-e92-record\/\">$200,000<\/a> on Bring a Trailer.<\/p>\n<p>Silver lining? We can at least take comfort in knowing another generation of the M3 with an inline-six is on the way. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/01\/26\/2028-bmw-m3-spy-photos\/\">G84<\/a> is expected to arrive in 2028, about a year after the fully electric M3 ZA0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary BMW celebrates 40 years of the M3 with a special exhibition featuring the ultra-rare M3 E46 Strassenversion. Only 10 cars were ever made but seven were subsequently crushed. The remaining three are not in private hands as BMW owns them all. The unicorn M3 E46 had a V8 race car engine: the naturally [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85453,"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-85452","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\/85452","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=85452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}