The BMW faithful would probably be eager for spring to come since the BMW M3 will be made available in the US by then. A good thing still since you can’t enjoy a . That is, of course, you have a $63,000 purse to buy one. But before we finally see M3s rolling down the streets, BMW has been (un)kind enough to show us the M3’s race version that’s designed to compete in the 2009 American Le Man Series.

The car features the M3’s 4.0L V8 tuned as the P65 motorsports version raising the horsepower from an already impressive 414 to 485. The engine is paired with a six-speed sequential racing tranny that sports a carbon-fiber clutch and LSD. And since you can’t give a car more horses without making it beefier in other aspects, BMW even tuned the chassis to give it a wider track and is fitted with race-tuned suspensions and brakes. It’s even lighter with aerodynamic carbon-fiber body pieces giving it a curb weight of 2,535 pounds.

It’s always nice to see a race version of an already good performance car. There’s definitely a wish in every M3 fan that race-tuning would filter down to consumer level. A street version, perhaps?

Source: Inside Line