M3 GTR E46

The BMW M3 GTR (E46) is the hero car of the 2005 game Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The iconic M3 in blue and silver, with the big rear wing.

Before our race against our biggest rival, Razor, our car is tampered with. We lose the race and the car. We are caught by the police. The rest of our story is built around climbing the Blacklist and beating Razor to win that car back. This is why the M3 GTR is considered one of the most beloved and most requested cars in video game history.

The car appears in real life too, and it is extremely rare. BMW developed it for the ALMS (American Le Mans Series). When they dropped a 4.0-liter V8 into it in 2001, it dominated the season, winning 7 of 10 races, and Jörg Müller took the GT championship. To be allowed to race, the rules required a road version, so BMW built only 10 road-legal (Strassenversion) M3 GTRs. That makes it one of the rarest BMW M models ever. Most are in BMW's own collection and are practically impossible to buy. In 2002 the rules changed. A requirement to build 100 cars came in. BMW withdrew the car from the ALMS. The car went on to take part in races in Europe.

The model I have is limited to 999 pieces. So both the car it represents and the model itself are on the rare side.