The BMW Z4 GT3’s days are numbered. The Munich giants have opted to bring in the M6 GT3 for the GT Le Mans class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The Z4 has had a good run but sadly it’s on its way out as the M6 bodied GT3 race car takes the helm at the 2016 championship season.
It is unclear as to why BMW has made the decision to replace the race car for the next season, but we can tell you what made the Z4 GT3 go like a stabbed rat. The Z4 featured an aluminium 4.4-litre DOHC 32-valve V8 naturally aspirated engine that churns out a respectable 490 hp (fitted with the mandatory air restrictor that is) and 480 Nm of torque. All of that packed together in an aerodynamic package that tips the scale at 1,230 kg as per IMSA regulation.
The BMW M6 GT3 on the other hand comes with a dry-sump, twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 M-TwinPower Turbo production mill that’s lifted straight from the M6. BMW themselves have reaffirmed that the engine will remain broadly unchanged and will kick out an excess of 500 hp and wrapped up in a lightweight shell that tips the scale at just under 1,300 kg. A heavy duty six-speed sequential racing transmission channels all that power onto the wheels.
BMW’s engineers have worked tirelessly to ensure that M6 is track worthy, with driver’s safety being the one of the more major issues to deal with. For that matter, BMW Motorsport developed and produced the FIA-approved safety cell. As we’ve learned, safety in motorsport is something not be taken lightly, with the unfortunate demise of Jules Bianchi as an example close to mind.
Bimmer has done well to retain the shape and enhance the design whilst keeping the spirit of the production car and then making it into a race car. As for the camo, BMW has yet to shed it off as the car is still in the late developmental stages before it debuts the next season.
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