BMW Expecting M3 Touring 24H to Fight With SP9 GT3 Cars

Photo: Julian Kroehl/BMW

BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos is expecting its M3 Touring 24H one-off race car to to have the pace to challenge GT3-spec cars int he SP9 class at the Nürburgring 24, despite being in the SPX class.

The GT3-based wagon/estate car, which started as an April Fool’s joke last year, has been built by the German manufacturer and will be driven in the Eifel endurance classic by factory drivers Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Roos explained that the idea has been floated around internally for several years, which initially promoted the April Fools joke last year.

“We started discussing in 2022 when the M3 Touring came out, the road car, and thought about what we could do and what it could look like,” he said.

“There’s no regulation, basically, where you could run it. The Nürburgring allows you with the SPX class to run there an this is why we discussed it.

“We then did this April Fools. To be honest, the feedback we got was really overwhelming, from our community, our fans.

“This gave us the push to really say, ‘OK, c’mon. Now let’s do it.'”

Roos said it took eight months from the go-ahead to get the car built and prepared for its first on-track tests and race, which came in the recent NLS2 outing.

He said that “quite a lot” of the car is shared with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which serves as the underpinning of the M3 Touring 24H.

“The whole drivetrain, suspension, everything is a takeover from the GT3 EVO,” explained Roos. “For sure the body shell is original M3 Touring body shell modified.

“The biggest work we had to do was the bodywork styling, the aerodynamics and everything to get the car into a good window in terms of aero balance and driveability.

“For sure we did a lot of development on CFD. But when the car was ready we also put it in the wind tunnel to do some fine tuning.”

While BMW has built only one car, in what Roos calls a “proper one-off” he has high expectations for the M3 Touring 24H, with no regulatory disadvantage by racing in the SPX class, for un-homologated race cars.

“You should know BMW. When we go out we want to win,” he said.

“In the end, the car is not 1:1 exactly the same GT3 car like the M4, for sure, because of the body kit.

“Our goal, clearly would be, that the car is somewhere in the lap time performance, or the potential of a GT3 car.

“As far as I know there’s no disadvantage [in SPX]. In the end, basically we run more or less like a GT3 car.

“But we also have some competition in the SPX class. HWA is there. It’s quite interesting.”

The M3 Touring 24H will be joined by three Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II DTM-inspired HWA EVO.R cars, which is expected to run at a pace between Porsche Cup and GT4 cars, in SPX.

There will also be a BMW Z4 GT3 in the race, entered by a privateer outfit, that will race in the SP9 class alongside contemporary GT3 machinery.

“For sure, it’s a very unique car,” said Roos. “:It was also a very successful car for BMW, so it’s really nice to see the car running there again.

“I think it will also have a lot of fans because the sound of the car is amazing.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John