Page 1 of 1 Ahead of the 2000 season, BMW and longtime partner PTG Racing developed an all-new GT racer based on the latest E46 generation M3. Short for Prototype Technology Group, the Tom Milner owner organisation had successfully run M3s for BMW from 1995 onwards. By the end of the 1990s, the E36 was showing its age. To regain the edge over the likes of the Porsche 911, six brand new cars were built by PTG Racing in 2000.
PRG started with a bare E46 M3 shell, which was stitch welded for further reinforcement. A roll-cage was fitted for driver safety and improved rigidity. Bespoke carbon-fibre composite bodywork was mounted on the bare shell that resembled the road car but had wider wheel-arches to clear the wide racing slicks. A dry-sump version of the M3 engine was fitted, dubbed the S54B32, it was rated at around 450 bhp with the mandatory restrictors fitted.
The prototype E46 M3 racer made its debut at the 2000 Sebring 12 Hours. It was also entered at the 24 Hours of Le Mans but ultimately withdrawn. Additional cars were built during the season and by the Laguna Seca round of the American Le Mans Series, the M3 GT shared by Hans Joachim Stuck and Boris Said scored a GT class win. It was a rare highlight in a season dominated by the Porsche 911 GT3.
For the 2001 American Le Mans Series, BMW and PTG developed an evolution powered by a bespoke four-litre V8. These were raced alongside the six-cylinder engined cars and proved so dominant that they were banned after a single season. For Grand-Am use, two of the 2000 cars were fitted with a five-litre V8 derived from the M5. In this guise the E46 M3 was also quite successful, scoring several class and outright wins.
Although the Porsches had the strength in numbers, the PTG Racing developed and run M3s did remarkably well both in its original six-cylinder and later eight-cylinder guise. Page 1 of 1
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Ahead of the 2000 season, BMW and longtime partner PTG Racing developed an all-new GT racer based on the latest E46 generation M3. Short for Prototype Technology Group, the Tom Milner owner organisation had successfully run M3s for BMW from 1995 onwards. By the end of the 1990s, the E36 was showing its age. To regain the edge over the likes of the Porsche 911, six brand new cars were built by PTG Racing in 2000.