BMW Australia has pulled the covers off its factory
backed Team SRM M4 GT4 caged race car, ahead of its planned entry into the
Bathurst 12 Hour and Australian GT Championship. The M4 track car will also be sold to privateers for local events, from around AUD 300,000.
That’s about the same as the F82 M4 GTS road car.
The M4 GT4 uses the standard engine (with around 437 Hp instead of the GTS’
500 Hp), the standard dual-clutch transmission, even the same starter button.
Plus it has air vents from a Mini, which fit better. The philosophy behind the
GT4 class is cost-effective GT racing, with a focus on sharing technology with
road cars. By contrast, GT3-class cars are only about 20 per cent road car.
Given that Australia has the highest proportional
sales of M road cars in the world, the marketing benefits to having factory
backed racers across various GT categories are obvious. BMW Team SRM says it
has been working on securing one of the brand new GT4-spec racers since BMW
first revealed plans to join the burgeoning entry-level GT category, and in the
end was part of the early allocation when production commenced in Munich.
The Team SRM car has now arrived in Melbourne, with
preparations for next February’s Bathurst 12 Hour ready to begin following a
successful shakedown test at Winton, comprising about 400 km of circuit work led
by Four-time Bathurst 1000 winner and BMW Team SRM boss, Steve Richards.
A second M4 GT4 has also recently arrived in the
country and is now in the possession of new owner – and former BMW Motorsport
racer – Tony Longhurst.
