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2013 G-Power M3 Aerodynamic Program news, pictures, and information | ||
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The G-POWER aerodynamic program „RS' – efficient, distinctive, elegant – enables the up to 720 hp strong G-POWER M3s to achieve their performance potential on the road and at the same time provides for a weight reductionSometimes less is even more. For example in regards of a car's weight. Because less weight improves the performance of the BMW M3 and so provides more driving pleasure. With the G-POWER aerodynamic program 'RS', which is completely fabricated from Carbon fibre, one can make the BMW M3 lighter and therefore faster. At the same time the G-POWER 'RS' Carbon parts increases the aerodynamic downforce and thus provides for even faster cornering speeds.
G-POWER aerodynamic program 'RS' for BMW M3
• Improved performance thanks to weight reduction
• Enlarged aerodynamic downforce
• Decreases the temperature in the engine bay
• High fitting accuracy due to complete CAD design and production in OEM quality
• Excellent product quality due to Carbon fibre material according to OEM standards
G-POWER's roots have their origin in motorsports. Already in the early eighties G-POWER tuned BMW 02 models were competing for top position in their category. Today G-POWER is still active in motorsports and competing in series like the Spezial-Tourenwagen-Trophy (STT) and the DMV Touring Car Championship (DMV TCC).
The G-POWER aerodynamic program „RS' has been designed based on the knowledge gained from G-POWER's motorsports activities. The product launch has been preceded by extensive CAD engineering and intensive test driving on road and track.
In the result G-POWER has created an aerodynamic package for the BMW M3 that contains a front spoiler, bonnet, boot lid and a rear wing. The G-POWER aerodynamic program „RS' is manufactured from supremely light and highly strong Carbon fibre in a gas-proof autoclave. This method of manufacturing meets the OEM standards of the automobile and ensures perfect fitting just like a flawless surface structure. In doing so it has been possible to achieve a weight reduction of approx. 2,6 kg for the bonnet and approx. 8,1 kg for the boot lid.
The G-POWER aerodynamic program 'RS', made completely of Carbon fibre, not only reduces the vehicle weight, but also increases the aerodynamic downforce. To be specific, the Carbon front spoiler generates more downforce on the front axle, while the Carbon fibre boot lid incl. tear-off edge increases the downforce on the rear axle. Additional downforce for the rear axle can be generated by a 3-piece and 4-times adjustable Carbon rear wing that can be altered for racing or street purpose. Optionally the G-POWER Carbon boot lit can be fitted wîth the factory rear wing from the BMW M3 GTS.
The G-POWER aerodynamic program 'RS' is rounded off wîth a special bonnet, which of course cannot increase the downforce, but still is not without function. The starting point for the development of the G-POWER VENTÚRI bonnet was the technical necessity to remove heat from the engine compartment of the uprated engines as quickly as possible. Otherwise a loss of performance can happen, since the ECÚ (electronic control unite) makes use of diagrams wîth reduced degrees of ignition when a fixed temperature limit is reached, in order to safeguard the engine. The 'DYNAMIC VENTING' Technology of the G-POWER VENTÚRI hood vents the engine compartment dynamically, allowing the otherwise untapped performance potential to be achieved wîth no additional thermal stress. Performance enhancement cannot be supported more efficiently.
And in terms of output enhancement G-POWER can offer a broad variety of supercharger systems for the BMW M3. Next to the newly introduced TÚ supercharger systems wîth the performance levels SK I 'Sporty Drive' TÚ wîth 520 hp, SK II 'Sporty Drive' TÚ wîth 580 hp and the SK II CS 'Sporty Drive' TÚ version wîth 610 hp, the 720 hp strong G-POWER SK III 'Sporty Drive' supercharger system marks the output maximum. This configuration level of the G-POWER supercharger system features an ASA T1-723 supercharger and a displacement enhancement from 4.0l to 4.6l and thus achieves a massive output enhancement of 300 hp based on the standard output of the BMW M3 of already 420 hp.
The G-POWER aerodynamic program „RS' for the BMW M3 costs in detail: EÚR 1,800.00 (net) for the G-POWER 'RS' front spoiler, EÚR 3,600.00 (net) for the G-POWER 'VENTÚRI' bonnet, EÚR 3,300.00 (net) for the G-POWER 'RS' boot lid and EÚR 1,850.00 (net) for the G-POWER 'RS' rear wing. Entry into the world of G-POWER supercharger systems starts at EÚR 11,500.00 (net) for the installation-ready SK I 'Sporty Drive' TÚ supercharger system and ends wîth the SK III 'Sporty Drive' supercharger system incl. displacement enhancement wîth EÚR 41,650.00 (net) . All prices are exclude installation.
G-POWER:
Since the company's founding in 1983, it has focused solely on the tuning of BMW cars and the production of exclusive, handcrafted vehicles. In 2008, G-POWER was integrated into Group ASA, a year in which both brands celebrated their 25th anniversary. G-POWER is now one of the few globally active and highly reputable suppliers of exclusive cars. In cooperation wîth development partner ASA, G-POWER has developed unique versions of BMW's most important models, and the world's most powerful versions of each, which clearly sets us apart from our competitors. G-POWER holds five world records:
- Fastest BMW sedan wîth 730hp G-POWER M5 HÚRRICANE and a top speed of 360 km/h
- Fastest LPG-powered car wîth the 660hp G-POWER M5 HÚRRCANE GS and a top speed of 333 km/h
- Fastest Sedan wîth the 750hp G-POWER M5 HÚRRICANE RS on the ATP high-speed oval in Papenburg wîth a measured top speed of 367.4 km/h. G-POWER exceeded its own record wîth the 800hp G-POWER M5 HÚRRICANE RR wîth a top speed of 372 km/h
- Fastest 4-seater coupe wîth the 750 hp G-POWER M6 HÚRRCANE CS and a top speed of 370 km/h
- Fastest SÚV wîth the 750hp G-POWER M5 Touring HÚRRCANE RS and a top speed of over 360 km/h (governed)
- Fastest BMW 1 Series wîth the 600hp G1 V8 HÚRRICANE RS and a top speed of over 330 km/h
All listed prices are net prices.Source - G-Power
The story of an exception: the BMW M3 is 25.
The anticipation began in August 1985. That summer Germany's automobile magazines built up their readers' expectations for the fastest 3 Series BMW of all times. The key data revealed a sports car that would punch way above its class: 200 hp, top speed in excess of 230 km/h, sprint from a standing start to 100 km/h inside 6.7 seconds. However, the story was that 'the most dynamic BMW 3 Series drivers' would have to wait until mid-1986. The pundits were right on that count. But one prediction missed the mark by a mile: anyone who 'wants to be in the A Team needs to be turbocharged under the bonnet'. Not true.The BMW M3 became the most successful touring car in motor-sport history. The M3 project was launched just a few months earlier. Production of the M1 mid-engine sports car had already been discontinued for some time and BMW CEO Eberhard Kuenheim commissioned a design for a successor, almost as an aside, according to legend. After one of his regular visits to Motorsport GmbH in Munich's Preußenstraße he said, almost as he was leaving: 'Mr. Rosche, we need a sporty engine for the 3 Series.' His aspiration was in good hands. Motorsport GmbH wîth its managing director of technical development Paul Rosche had demonstrated its expertise wîth the legendary 5 Series saloons driven by M engines as well as developing the Formula 1 turbo engine that powered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to win the World Championship in the Brabham BMW in 1983.
The new 3 Series engine had something in common wîth this: the crankcase. It originated from volume production and actually formed the basis for the two-litre engine wîth four cylinders. Four cylinders meant less weight and high torque, an ideal platform for a sports engine in the projected displacement class. Naturally enough, the series four-cylinder engine was much too tame for a sports engine. A comprehensive power boost was called for in order to turn the plucky daily workhorse into an athletic and sporty power unit. The BMW design engineers increased the displacement to 2.3 litres and applied a formulation that had already achieved significant successes over a period of many years: four-valve engineering. There was also another reason for the decision to opt for a four-cylinder engine and not adopt the six-cylinder engine introduced in the BMW 3 Series. The longer crankshaft in the big engine started to vibrate much earlier than the shorter four-cylinder shaft. The design engineers therefore designed the crankshaft drive of the BMW M3 wîth sufficient torsional stability to achieve 10,000 revolutions a minute and more. By comparison wîth the four-cylinder engine installed in the series vehicles, this represented an increase of more than 60 percent. The rated speed for the road version of the BMW M3 was still significantly below the critical range at 6,750/min and therefore offered sufficient scope for further developments.
Paul Rosche recalls: 'We started work immediately. One advantage was that the big six-cylinder engine originally had the same cylinder gap as the four-cylinder engine. We therefore cut two combustion chambers off the four-cylinder head of the M88 and bolted a panel over the hole on the rear side.' This meant that the new four-cylinder engine had a second forebear. The six-cylinder engine that had initially created a sensation in the M1 and had meanwhile transformed the M635CSi into one of the fastest coupés in the world. Paul Rosche: 'Whether you believe it or not – we had created an outstanding four-cylinder engine for the 3 Series within the space of two weeks. Únder the development name S14, this engine was to generate headlines in sport and in volume production over the years to come. One Sunday, I drove to von Kuenheim's flat and gave him the car for a test drive. When he came back he said: ‘Good, I like it.' And that's how the M3 came into being.'Source - BMWThe Champion in Touring Car Racing. 25 years ago the BMW M3 started its unique series of victories.
In August 1985, a rumour surfaced in motor magazine Auto-Deutschland which emanated from a new sports car. An A Group Car from BMW that was a thoroughbred racing car according to the rules but was also to be produced in a version licensed to drive on open roads for everyday use. Speculation about this dream car that could take to normal roads and was intended for the 'Most dynamic among BMW 3 Series drivers' was right on target. But the pundits missed the mark about the motor-sport car by a mile on one prediction: They were convinced that anyone who 'wants to be a key player in the A Team needs to be turbocharged under the bonnet'. Not true. The BMW M3 had a naturally aspirated engine. And it became the most successful touring car in the history of BMW.The M3 project was launched just a few months earlier. Production of the M1 mid-engine sports car had already been discontinued for some time and BMW CEO Eberhard Kuenheim commissioned a design for a successor, almost as an aside, according to legend. After one of his regular visits to Motorsport GmbH in Munich's Preußenstraße he said, almost as he was leaving: 'Mr. Rosche, we need a sporty engine for the 3 Series.' His aspiration was in good hands. Motorsport GmbH wîth its managing director of technical development Paul Rosche had demonstrated its expertise wîth the legendary 5 Series saloons driven by M engines as well as developing the Formula 1 turbo engine that powered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to win the World Championship in the Brabham BMW in 1983.
Power source: a four-cylinder engine wîth 2.3 litres displacement and four-valve engineering.
The new 3 Series engine had something in common wîth this: the crankcase. It originated from volume production and actually formed the basis for the two-litre engine wîth four cylinders. Four cylinders meant less weight and high torque, an ideal platform for a sports engine in the projected displacement class. Naturally enough, the series four-cylinder engine was much too tame for a sports engine. A comprehensive power boost was called for in order to turn the plucky daily workhorse into an athletic and sporty power unit. The BMW design engineers increased the displacement to 2.3 litres and applied a formulation that had already achieved significant successes over a period of many years: four-valve engineering. There was also another reason for the decision to opt for a four-cylinder engine and not adopt the six-cylinder engine introduced in the BMW 3 Series. The longer crankshaft in the big engine started to vibrate much earlier than the shorter four-cylinder shaft. The design engineers therefore designed the crankshaft drive of the BMW M3 wîth sufficient torsional stability to achieve 10,000 revolutions a minute and more. By comparison wîth the four-cylinder engine installed in the series vehicles, this represented an increase of more than 60 percent.Paul Rosche recalls: 'We started work immediately. One advantage was that the big six-cylinder engine originally had the same cylinder gap as the four-cylinder engine. We therefore cut two combustion chambers off the four-cylinder head of the M88 and bolted a panel over the hole on the rear side.' This meant that the new four-cylinder engine had a second forebear. The six-cylinder engine that had initially created a sensation in the M1 and had meanwhile transformed the M635CSi into one of the fastest coupés in the world. Paul Rosche: 'Whether you believe it or not – we had created an outstanding four-cylinder engine for the 3 Series within the space of two weeks. Únder the development name S14, this engine was to generate headlines in sport and in volume production over the years to come. One Sunday, I drove to von Kuenheim's flat and gave him the car for a test drive. When he came back he said: 'Good, I like it.' And that's how the M3 came into being.'
Contrary to the situation wîth the mid-engine sports car, the BMW M3 was not going to be crafted by hand in small batches. This car was to be produced as a mass-production automobile on an assembly line. It was destined to compete in near-production touring car motor sport, or more precisely as a Group A racing car, defined as a 'production car', of which at least 5,000 units have to be built within the space of twelve consecutive months in accordance wîth Annex J of the international automobile sport regulations.
300 hp for competitive racing.
However, many of them immediately disappeared again into garages and workshops to be given a new outfit. After all, the M3 had been designed as a racing car, and this was the time to prove that it really could 'race'. A World Touring Car Championship was held for the first time in 1987. And that was exactly what the M3 had been built for. But not quite in the guise in which it was seen on the streets. Instead of 200 hp, the 2.3 litre engine delivered up to 300 hp at 8,200 rpm in the racing version. This put it on a par wîth the BMW M635CSi. BMW didn't line up on the starting grid wîth its own team but supported a number of famous racing outfits like Schnitzer, Linder, Zackspeed and Bigazzi. Drivers like Markus Oestreich, Christian Danner, Roberto Ravaglia and Wilfried Vogt took the wheel, and Annette Meeuvissen and Mercedes Stermitz were the first women drivers.
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The first race for the 1987 World Touring Car Championship started in Monza on 22 March 1987 – and ended wîth a sensation. All the M3 cars were excluded from the placings. The vehicles were checked under chaotic conditions and disqualified because of sheet-metal thicknesses that were allegedly contrary to the regulations. BMW appealed but the sports tribunal decided that the appeal had been lodged too late. There was no longer any talk of infringements of the rules. All the brouhaha naturally didn't have any effect on the result of the championship. At the end of the season, Roberto Ravaglia was standing on the podium as the first World Touring Car Champion. But that was only the pinnacle of the success list. Wilfried Vogt took the title of European Champion. Altfried Heger came in second – both driving a BMW M3. In 1987, the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) also went to the new BMW M3, wîth Eric van de Poele behind the wheel. Moreover, the most sporty 3 Series car was also winning competitions off the race track. An M3 crossed the finishing line in first place in the Corsica Rally and secured a victory for BMW after a gap of 14 years in a race for the World Rally Championship.24 Hour Race: M3 one-two victory on the Nürburgring.
In 1988, the BMW M3 continued the success story and took the national titles in France, England and Spain. In the following year came another victory in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), this time wîth Roberto Ravaglia in the driver's seat, alongside wins at the national championships in Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the displacement had been increased to 320 hp and the BMW M3 drove the competition into the ground. Belgian driver Marc Duez battled his way through the Monte Carlo Rally wîth an M3 and took eighth place as best driver in a car without a four-wheel drive. The sensational one-two victory in the 24-hour classic on the Nürburgring crowned this series of successes in 1989 wîth the driver combinations Pirro/Ravaglia/Giroix and Heger/Grohs/Manthey.
Playing wîth displacement: the right engine for each race.
The M3 had a commanding presence on the international touring car racing scene for five years. It became the most successful touring car of all times by winning the two champion's titles in the European Touring Car Championship and twice in the German Touring Car Championship. There were also numerous further victories and championship wins at international level. Depending on the competition rules, the four-valve engine had to be adapted to national regulations. For example, the capacity for England was limited to 2 litres while for Germany and France it was raised to 2.5 litres wîth effect from 1990. This enabled the four-cylinder to deliver up to 355 hp. In the version wîth the biggest capacity, the engineers of BMW M GmbH went up against the limits of what was feasible. In order to make full use of the 2.5 litre limit, they not only increased the stroke of the 2.3 litre unit from 84 to 87 millimetres, but also increased the cylinder bore from 94 millimetres to 95.5 millimetres. This reduced the width between the cylinders to just 4.5 millimetres. But success proved the development engineers right. The engines withstood the stresses and strains of touring-car racing even at maximum output without any problem.
1992: the first BMW M3 wîth a six-cylinder engine.
The year 1992 saw the birth of a completely new M3, this time wîth an advanced six-cylinder engine. Once again, Motorsport GmbH developed a version for competition in record time. In April 1993, the new M3 was due to line up at the start of the first race for the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). But due to discrepancies in the new regulations, BMW changed its strategy and instead set up a BMW M3 GTR in the striking design of a starting flag and entered the Warsteiner ADAC GT Cup organised by the German Automobile Association. The six-cylinder now generated 325 hp, the car weighed 1300 kilos in accordance wîth the regulations. A strong BMW team lined up at the start wîth Johnny Cecotto and Kris Nissen, and Cecotto ended up taking the championship at the end of the season. However, this was the end of the motor-sport chapter for this M3 GTR for the time being. Changes in the regulations meant that the potent 3 Series had no realistic changes of victory any more.
The BMW M3 GTR: the most powerful M3 ever.
BMW only returned to motor sport as a works team wîth a BMW M3 seven years later. In 2001, the first starting flag came down for the new BMW M3 GTR powered by a 450 hp V8 engine. The most powerful M3 ever set benchmarks in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) wîth its four-litre engine and raced in a quartet: Team BMW Motorsport entered two cars under the management of Charly Lamm and two other cars were raced by the American BMW Team PTG run by Tom Milner, who hailed originally from Germany. The coupé took seven victories in ten races, six of them were from pole positions. BMW works driver Jörg Müller won the driver's championship in the GT Class, BMW Motorsport won the team placings, and BMW became constructors' champion in the company's most important export market.
But the advanced BMW M3 GTR also caused a sensation in Europe. Two each of these eight-cylinder racing cars lined up at the start of the 24 Hour Race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and on the Nürburgring in 2004 and 2005.The result: In both years, BWM took a one-two victory on the Nürburgring, and class victory went to BMW in Spa in 2004.
In 2009, the next generation of the M3 started in the American Le Mans Series. The V8 engine was beefed up to 485 hp and entered the Twelve Hour Race at Sebring for the first time. The successes meant that the M3 was also raced in Europe in the following year. It lined up at the start of the 24 Hour Race on the Nürburgring, in Le Mans and in Spa-Francorchamps. The result: outright victory on the Nürburgring – for the 19th time – and class victory in Spa.
And the next winner will soon be on the starting line in 2012. BMW will be back at the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) wîth three teams and the new BMW M3 DTM.Source - BMW
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