Two of the Rarest BMWs Ever Made Are About to Make a Special Appearance
The 2001 BMW M3 GTR road and race cars will be at this year’s Legends of the Autobahn Concours d’Elegance.
BMW has painstakingly restored the 2001 BMW M3 GTR “Stars and Stripes” liveried race car along with a long-hidden street variant for this year’s Legends of the Autobahn Concours D’Elegance in Monterey, California. The cars will make an appearance as part of the brand’s 40th anniversary celebration this year, with the road car version of the M3 GTR making just its second appearance in North America.
The German automaker spent the last 18 months restoring the number M3-GTR-006 from the ground up, reviving the controversial race car that was allowed to compete since a small number of road cars were produced. Although the M3 GTR raced in only one season of American Le Mans competition with two cars each campaigned by BMW Team PTG and BMW Team Schnitzer, they combined to win the final six races in a row while sitting six new race lap records.
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That season, the M3 GTR secured the ALMS Manufacturers’ Championship for BMW, the Team Championship for BMW Team Schnitzer and the Drivers’ Championship for Jörg Müller. This is all despite the fact that the teams didn’t start racing until the third event of the eight-race ALMS season.
In total, six M3 GTR road-going cars were produced, with three becoming engineering development cars that were later recycled. The remaining three are part of the BMW Group Classic collection and for the most part have hardly been seen in public.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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