M3/M4 Edmunds First Drive: 2010 BMW M3 by Brabham Racing

[Bartek S.]

The Brabham Racing BT92 Is a Beautiful, Brash Bastard

We'll get to the driving hilarity in a second. After all, the stunning 494-horsepower, 2010 Brabham Racing BT92 is based on the stunning 414-hp 2010 BMW M3 Coupe, so it's automatically a thrill and a half.
There's a lot of intrigue surrounding this car, labeled the Brabham Racing BT92 by its creator, Michael Trick. You might remember Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula 1 driving champion, who had nothing to do with this car and is monumentally p.o.'ed (in the form of his sons, IMSA racing champion Geoff and ALMS racing champion David) at this co-opting of the family name by some German upstart. And BMW itself was a little miffed over this new company's impetuous use of the BMW badge on one of its early Web sites, as if this were a BMW-certified project.
So we've had our doubts about this non-Brabham Brabham Racing BT92 thing ever since the car appeared last fall at the 2008 Essen Motor Show, Germany's equivalent of SEMA. But it turns out that the Brabham family had not nailed down any rights to the Brabham trademarks worldwide in recent years, so they were fair game. And that thing with the Web site and the BMW roundel was resolved when company owner Trick ordered the site killed.
Driving and touching and feeling tells the ultimate story about this ultimate M3. And the 2010 Brabham Racing BT92 is tremendous from the driver seat. Despite all that has been altered, however, it still basically looks pretty close to an M3, and we immediately wonder, therefore, about the plausibility of its asking price of nearly $310,000.
Having the Best Costs Dough
Once we sat down with Brabham Racing's Michael Trick and other members of his team in southern Spain, we gradually came around to seeing the 2010 BMW M3 by Brabham Racing for what it is: a really ambitious piece of work that any driving enthusiast will be proud to own (if they can afford it, of course).
The people behind this thing are peerless. All engine work to the 4.0-liter BMW S65B40 V8 over the past two years has been handled in an exclusive deal with longtime BMW engineering pro Oliver Nowack, whose father was mentor to "Camshaft" Paul Rosche, himself the father of BMW Formula 1 racing engines. Technical chief to the Brabham Racing project is Andreas Hainke, the former tech boss of Volkswagen Motorsport.
The BT92's M3 engine has been upgraded to racing specification in almost every respect. The dimensions of the cylinders are now 93.3mm-by-80.2mm against the original 4.0-liter V8's 92.0mm-by-75.2mm, yielding a displacement of 4.4 liters. A forged crankshaft has been carefully balanced and the camshaft profiles are new, while the cylinder heads have been machined for bigger valves and the pistons have been given a low-friction coating. Naturally, the all-new intake and exhaust systems have been optimized for more power, some 494 hp at 8,300 rpm and 354 pound-feet of torque at 5,700 rpm.
Another aspect to the expensive, 20-day process that converts an ordinary 2010 BMW M3 to the Brabham Racing BT92 is the use of a full complement of carbon-fiber body panels (the M3 roof panel remains, of course). The result of all the carbon fiber is added structural rigidity, together with a weight loss of 110 pounds in the body alone.
The engine can still be serviced at any BMW-certified shop, and it's still compatible with the existing six-speed manual gearbox The standard M3's factory-estimated 4.5-second dash to 60 mph is improved by the BT92 to 4.1 seconds (3.9 seconds with the latest dual-clutch GK gearbox that's being developed as an option, we're told), though the real leap forward in performance comes at higher speeds. Now that the electronic speed limiter has been disabled, the new engine's redline of 8,550 rpm allows a v-max of 188 mph.

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[NarutoRamen]

The only 2 things interesting about this car are the rims and the front bumper. The rest of the car is FUGLY and that asking price is rediculous.

 

[Sunny]

And the only thing that interests me is the engine - 494 HP out of 4.4l and 8550 rpm redline! Oh, I also like the color.

 

[klier]

The only 2 things interesting about this car are the rims and the front bumper. The rest of the car is FUGLY and that asking price is rediculous.

You're only talking about looks though. As Sunny said, the engine and specs are just siiiiick

 

[Tarek]

The engine tuning is simply outstanding but as Ramen said the looks are horrible,i want that engine in a stock kitted car please

 

[klier]

^ I'd rather have a Dinan M3 with 520 NA hp

 

[Tarek]

^Even better

 

[NarutoRamen]

^ I'd rather have a Dinan M3 with 520 NA hp

Exactly, so with 520hp why would I bother with this company's 494hp?