BMW Confirms M4 GT3 for 2022

BMW has confirmed that it will produce a new GT3 car for the 2022 regulations cycle based on the next-generation M4 road car.

As revealed by Sportscar365 in June, the German manufacturer has been conceptualizing an M4-based successor to the two-time 24 Hours of Spa-winning BMW M6 GT3.

However, BMW needed to wait for the 2022 regulations to be approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council this week before outwardly committing to its new project.

This is because the roadworthy M4 on which the GT3 racer is based is produced on a production platform which also includes models as varied as the Z4 sports car and the X1 luxury SUV.

This fact would have rendered it ineligible for the current regulations, but the 2022 rules – which the WMSC formally approved on Thursday – enable future GT3 cars to be based on four-door road car architecture.

“The World Motor Sport Council has announced the new regulations for GT3,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.

“They will be in place for 2022 and, with that, we will deliver a new car based on the M4. We are working intensively on the development of that GT3 successor car.

“We will be hitting the road next year in late summer. This car will run in competition mode, but still under development, in 2021 and will be ready to be delivered to customers by the end of 2021 so that racing can start in 2022 with the new regulations.”

BMW CEO Markus Flasch added: “It’s only logical that future top models in customer racing will be based on the next generation of the BMW M4.

“We will already be setting new standards in terms of sporting performance in production, which is why it makes sense to present the new GT3 sports car on this platform as well.”

BMW has yet to set a price for its upcoming GT3 car, although Marquardt suggested that it will be competitive in terms of the current landscape.

The vehicle will be powered by an S58 engine deriving from the three-liter six-cylinder unit currently found in the M4 road-going version.

“We believe that GT3 is still at the top level of GT racing, but I think price-wise, there is definitely a limit that people are happy and willing to pay for a car,” said Marquardt.

“Our target is really to have a car that we sell for the new regs that is absolutely within the price range of our current car [which was €379,000 EUR at launch].”

BMW’s upcoming GT3 racer will be the brand’s third M4-based race car after the M4 GT4 which competes in the hands of customers worldwide and the M4 DTM.