BMW Z4 GT3 available for racing customers

BMW had offered the Z4 as a GT3 car for the 2010 GT3 racing season, and the Bavarian carmaker has returned with a revised version of the Z4 GT3 racer for 2011. The new Z4 GT3 for 2011 features new modifications that help primarily improve aerodynamic efficiency, and is now available to customer racers for about US$456,230.

The main difference between a standard production Z4 and the racing Z4 GT3 is the engine, as the Z4 GT3 features a 4.4-litre V8. The Z4 GT3 also has enhanced aerodynamic features, and private customers can also look forward to a new electronics system. For example, a newer-generation ECU408 is now in charge of engine management, whilea Power400 electronic control unit is responsible for controlling all the actuators. Power is transmitted through a six-speed sequential gearbox, and gearshifts are made via two paddles.

The steel body of the Z4 GT3 is made at BMW's production car plant in Regensburg, Germany. The safety cell is made of extremely rigid, precision steel tubing, which is then welded onto the body. Sections like the front and rear wings, bonnet, roof, fenders and many other components, meanwhile, are made of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). The wheels are forged aluminium units measuring 18-inches in diameter and house a set of aluminium brakes, six-piston units up front with four-pistons in the rear.