Tucked away in the corner of a quiet workshop a stone’s throw from the hallowed Kyalami GP circuit a monster is being spawned. The BMW M3 GT you see in the pics is a pukka GT series race car, built to do battle with the plethora of Ferrari 360 and 430 Challenge cars that currently hold sway in South Africa’s very own GT Challenge series. As befits a car its ilk, performance kit abounds. Wheels are 18 inch units by BBS and AP Performance disks with 6 pot front brake callipers do duty up front while 4 pot units handle the rear. While the standard motor still nestles in the engine bay its management will be handled by a Motek system with fully integrated dash. Breathing will be improved with purpose built exhausts and the result will see power edging up to the 440 HP mark. A racing clutch and single mass flywheel replace the standard units, as does a mechanical diff, which will better handle the stresses of the race track than the standard BMW M diff currently doing duty. Shocks and springs are bespoke units from local supplier Sax. On board air jacks scream “serious race car” and the body kit is a gorgeous in all the right places. While power is not dramatically higher than the stock M3, the race car will weigh in at a scant 1250 kg. Power to weight will be prodigious. The car was built by Carello Auto and Evolution 2 and driving duties will be shared between Tato Carello and Paolo Cavalieri. Tato, who previously drove a Ferrari, was keen to bring something different and exciting to the GT Challenge series. Apparently the folks at Sandton Auto felt the same way and backed the project, the race track is after all the spiritual home of BMW’s M 3. Keep an eye peeled for an exclusive driving impression of the beast in topCar magazine
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that is a good car. however,
that is a good car. however, every car has its limit. and every car needs to under go maintenance. and every car hasi its auto repair manuals. :)
Is this the most amazing car
Is this the most amazing car or what? It has everything it needs for me to love it. It has the looks, it has the skills and it has the art, it's just perfect. The last time I got impressed of a car this way was at Las Vegas auto body, I always find excuses to pay them a visit and see what else they got to show. This article as been a real treat for me, thanks for sharing it!
Grrrr!!!
Sexy car - sexy driver: Delicious Italian coated in German engineering...what more could a girl ask for!!!!
Well done for admiting the
Well done for admiting the error!
Apologise
I would like to admit that I got horribly mixed up with weight distribution and power to weight ratio, we learn all the time. I was horribly off the point, and can understand the rude remarks about me knowing nothing about cars, it was a silly error.
However this was one slip up that I made, we are all human? As Craig mentions, the cars weight distribution can be adjusted on corner weight scales, and the ballast can be moved around to achieve optimal distribution. My estimated 0-100km/h was academic, 4 - 4.2 seconds, not 3 seconds like other people. I respect everyone's comments, and I am happy to see how many motoring enthusiasts there are out there, its great. Sorry again for the stupid error.
Good On You
Good to see there are some who admit to their mistakes like you should do. Yes the error was stupid on all accounts, and this person made themselves look like an idiot, but I believe there was some interesting stuff about how to change the handling of the car in the comment supplied. Hopefully others when wrong will do the same. Nice One, Anonymous Fellow!
Just had to comment after reading this....
Quote "You seem very upset surrounding the concept of a car, namely the BMW M3, having a power to weight ratio of 50-50. Seeing you so clever do your calculation and see what value you come up with and then determine the power to weight ratio. Doubt you will come to a final answer, becasue your explanation of what power to weight means, every motoring enthusiast knows, so you most probably will not be able to add any value to this discussion anyway! "
Oh my god that comment shows you are the one with a total lack of understanding..... as others have already said the power to weight ratio has NOTHING to do with weight distribution which is the 50:50 figure you keep quoting..... a standard M3 has a P/W ratio of around 260bhp/ton the car here should be closer to 350bhp/ton which is enough to drop the cars 0-100MPH time from around 10sec to around 8sec..... ie. a big difference...... 0-100kph should be close to 4sec dead maybe 3.9.
If the original M3 has a weight distribution of 50:50 these guys will be doing a great job if they can keep a similar front to rear split as much of the weight loss will come from the rear of the car.
BMW M3 GT
Hey you guys at Wheels 24 or Craig at TopCar why don't you step in and rescue these poor souls or is the amusement factor just too high? CAR is looking for new presenters, why not forward these car buffs' info on to them? May I help or is that just going to spoil everybodies fun?
A Ferrari 430 power(kw) to mass(kg) ratio is 248(in standard trim)
A standard M3 power to mass ratio is 187(309kw/1652kg) It appears that the Carello M3 GT is aimed at 264 (339kw/1250kg) Oh and a 50:50 weight distribution is equal mass over front wheels(axle) and back wheels, but let's not stop the fun.
BMW M3 GT
You are right, the amusement factor has been superb. To be honest I'm thrilled to see the amount of comment this story has generated. Certainly there are many petrolheads out there. But just to clarify a few points:
Panel gaps - This is definitely still a car in build. Most of the panels were simply placed on the car for the shoot and were not even attached yet so shut lines will look a lot better when the build is completed.
Power - This is actually such an academic discussion. Manufacturers quote power figures based on a formula, at sea level, with perfect atmospheric conditions, at the flywheel etc,etc...We could quote an actual figure on the car after doing a dyno run, but those figures would only be relevant to that day, on that particular dyno, at that particular altitude. If you think all dyno's are calibrated identically, think again. Beware of this fact when having your own car tuned, it is very easy to show big gains on paper simply by tweaking the dyno! For these reasons most race cars are dyno'd the day before a race meeting to ensure they produce the most horsepower for the current conditions and track, the Motec system allows virtually infinite tunability to achieve this.
Power to weight - given my thoughts on power, getting an exact figure here is also problematic, but the aim is to give the car a power to weight ratio in excess of 260 watts/kg. In laymans terms, that is more than just about any production super car on the road today. Bottom line, it will feel plenty strong!
Weight distribution - BMW's tend to be around the 50:50 front/rear mark and the goal is to keep as close to that as possible. However, as mentioned in some of these posts, that can be tuned on the corner weight scales by adjusting ride heights and shocks and also by adding ballast in certain areas, which will be necessary to bring the car up to the required minimum weight. 50:50 is good, but more to the rear adds traction to a RWD car but promotes understeer. Again, the fully adjustable suspension will allow the team to tune the car for the best balance at each race track. What works at Kyalami does not work at Zwartkops!
To get a sense of what the car will look like and how it will go, read the March 2010 issue of topCar, which features the fortunes of a similarly specced M3 GT in the American Les Mans series. Bar a few differences in the exhaust system and aero package at the back of the car, the Le Mans series car is very similar to this one.
Craig Nicholson
Thumbs up to BMW M3 GT
The problem with all these comments are that they are all fruitless assumptions. Everyone knows better than the other. Craig, the motoring scribe, should be the one covering these issues. By asking the team who are actually building the cars, correct figures can be provided. At the moment we going in circles, as they say in motorsport - the bs stops when the flag drops.
Here's to the Champion
Whahahahaha, nice explanation boet! 'Power to weight ratio is how much hp the car makes per a ton'. You dont say?
Dig the M3 GT, cant wait to see it on track, should sound sick! Champ and yawn, the man is right, go back to Tarlton and drive in a straight line!
Build still in progress right back at you!
Ha ha,what a champ, who is a chav, ha ha! First of all you make no sense when trying to construct a decent argument, Who taught you english champion?
As they say you should know your facts before you write them down, then you should read through your work so it makes sense! Where did you get the statistic of the car reaching 100km/h in 3 seconds? In standard form the M3 reaches 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, depending on altitude and competency of the driver. With an extra 40 bhp you saying the car will improve this stat by a staggering 1.7 seconds?
That is bull champion, try a estimate of between 4 - 4.2 seconds. This is not Tarlton raceway either, Altech GT Challenge has rolling starts! You seem very upset surrounding the concept of a car, namely the BMW M3, having a power to weight ratio of 50-50. Seeing you so clever do your calculation and see what value you come up with and then determine the power to weight ratio. Doubt you will come to a final answer, becasue your explanation of what power to weight means, every motoring enthusiast knows, so you most probably will not be able to add any value to this discussion anyway!
Finally, by doing race set up, on corner weight scales, teams can calculate the weight of the car on each corner. Therefore they will be able to optimise and try equalise the weight of the car on each corner, giving the race car favourable handling characteristics. Hope I am not confusing you?
The race car will use a standard M3 differential, also known as a E-Diff. Through the software available on Motec's ECU, engineers will be able to manipulate the ratios of the diff through this device.
To the man who thinks this car is boring, head off to Tarlton with our champion friend, go watch some drags or drifting, and chat about power to weight ratios and how much torque is required to achieve 0-100km/h in 3 seconds.
confused
Buddy, you're still confusing power to weight ratio which should be in kW or BHP per ton, and weight distribution which would be 50/50.
Exactly!!
I mentioned power to weight being kw or bhp per ton, thats why I highlighted the figure of the car having around 440bhp, and weighing 1280kg, from that you would be able to work out bhp or kw's per a ton.
Corner weights calculates the weight of each corner on the car, which can be adjusted for the most beneficial weight distribution of the car, when cornering, as I said!
The champion friend of ours mixed everything up when he wondered what was so hard about the fact that the car has 440bhp and weighs 1280kg's. He therefore believes that your kw or bhp per ton, when calculated, will determine the weight distribution ratio of the car. That is why I asked him to calculate the ratio through the explanation he gave, knowing he would add nothing of value to our discussion.
Who cares, the car looks awesome, apart from the panel gaps, which will be aligned, and the Forza Ferrari's will have some stiff competition, which will provide some much needed interest for the series.
@ Craig Nicholson
Does the standard M3 comes fitted with an electrical diff as this GTR is fitted with a mechanical one?
Yawn
Just another Beemer, Boring..!!!!!
Engine
Poweful hey!!!!!
@build still in progress.
Dude apart from knowing nothing about cars or power to weight ratios, you seem to be unable to read and calculate too. What part of 440HP mark didn't you get with a weight of 1250kg.......
What is a power to weight ration of 50-50 who taught you that nonsense.......the power to weight ratio works on how many HP per ton the car makes, Quite simple really, if you know anything about cars and are not trying to BullSh@t everyone that you know something....
440 HP @ 1250kg would give it a 0-100 of about 3secs. ...if they can get all that torque onto the ground.
I want one
When and where can I get one?
Build still in progress
As mentioned by the author within his copy, estimated power is 440bhp. Once the free flow exhaust system is fitted and all engine mapping carried out through the Motec ECU be completed, can a definite answer be provided. All standard BMW's have a 50-50 power to weight ratio, once set-up and corner weights have been completed, a similar figure should be seen. For the purpose of this shoot the bonnet, fenders, front and rear spoilers were all fitted into their slots. They have yet to be aligned, as the car is far from being completed. The grills, seen within the picture, are evidently placed within the inserts of the spoiler. However the article does have spelling mistakes, Motek?, and some sentences make no sense. The M3 is an exciting porject though.
Build still in progress
As can be read in the article, an estimated performance output is around 440 bhp. The stock M3 motor is installed in its engine bay, as seen in the pictures available. The free flow exhausts, and Motec ecu will provide around 40bhp more. All BMW's have a 50-50 power to weight ratio, one must remember set up and corner weights still have to be carried out, once the car is completed. Regarding comments about the panel gaps, the bonnet, spoilers and fenders still have to be aligned properly. For the purpose of the photo shoot these components were fitted in their slots. As you can see the grills were placed in their inserts, however not fitted properly. Exciting prospect though.
@useless article
You are a chop, go to the ballet insted
LEGEND!
WHAT A BEAST!
Legend on wheels!
Useless article
Without any power specs this article is useless. What is the power to weight ratio? Any figure will do just fine.
It's still being built
Read the article and take a look at pics. There's not even an engine in the bay yet. Suspect specs will only be available once they've built, driven and tested it
Panel gaps
That is how race cars look, have NEVER seen a Production series car that looks as good as show room production car. The race cars are striped naked and kits are made but be sure after one race the body and panels don't match 100%...they don't care..BUT HELL THAT IS A NICE CAR!!!.
Panel gaps
Like you say its a race car & is there to race & for a race car its excellent, then again if you like, carbon design could make you a carbon fiber body kit thats perfect as a show car 2, if looking good is your thing
Realist
Fabrication looks kinda cheap though, what's up with the panel gaps...
Stock M3 GTR
Amazing Car is There Standerd M3 GTR in South Africa. What is the power and the topspeed?
Wow!
I think I just got a woody
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