BMW Reveals Limited, Lighter M3 CRT Saloon

As a lead up to the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, BMW held the M Night event to celebrate all BMW's M. It also revealed its latest M-car – the M3 CRT. 

The newest, limited-edition is based on the M3 Saloon and makes extensive use of carbon fiber and a more powerful engine to create the fastest four-door M3 yet. It will also be limited to just 67 cars worldwide. 

BMW is touting the use of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which is making its world debut in a road car in the M3 CRT. CFRP is made from the leftover thread used in creating carbon fiber. It can be woven into mats, which can then be hardened into panels. 

The hood of the M3 CRT is made entirely from CFRP. BMW claims that this gives the hood the strength of steel but is a half of the weight of the aluminum hood found on the standard car. The front seats, rear spoiler and parts of the front air dam are also produced from CFRP.

BMW will be using CFRP to make the entire bodies for its future i3 and i8 cars. 

The car uses a 4.4 liter version on the V8 found in the standard M3. This stroked version makes 450 hp, 35 more than in the regular saloon. It has an 8300rpm redline, but makes it maximum torque of 440Nm at just 3,750rpm. BMW claims a 0-100kmh time of 4.4 seconds. 

The M3 CRT comes exclusively with BMW's seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission.

It will only be available in Frozen Polar Silver metallic paint and a Sakhir Orange interior. 

The M3 CRT is the second in a series of limited run cars from M GmbH. The first was the M3 GTS of which 135 were made.