M3 Lightweight (LTW) (E36)
Beginning with the first E36 M3s delivered,
BMW racers began pressuring BMW for a race-ready version with which to compete against
Porsche 911s in sports-car racing.
In 1995, BMW relented and began building batches of the M3 LTW at BMW Individual. Upon completion they were sent to Prototype Technology Group (PTG) Racing in Virginia for final preparation, which included the front and rear Motorsport flag decals, and "trunk goodies." In the trunk there was a different oil pan with dual pick up oil pump, longer oil dipstick tube, front strut bar, lower x brace that owners could install at the risk of voiding the standard BMW warranty. The car also came with the normal M3 low wing mounted but most dealers installed the special high wing when prepping the car for sale. An adjustable front lower lip/spoiler was installed. Each new owner was given a 1 page legal document to sign stating that any installation of trunk items voided the new car warranty. The ECU had the top speed limiter removed which resulted in a drag induced top speed. Forged 17" alloy wheels, 7½" wide in the front and 8½" wide in the rear, mounted with identically sized 235/40-17 tires front and rear were an additional difference from the standard 17" × 7½" cast alloy wheels mounted with 235/40-17 tires on standard M3s. A 3.23 rear differential was installed vs the normal 3.15 installed in 1995 model year M3's.
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Although BMW promised to build at least 85 examples, BMW never released the number of M3 LTWs built, and because of the peculiar assembly line, to this day may not be known. However, enthusiasts now believe that there exist approximately 120 models.
The first two cars, which were used as press cars, are not technically M3 LTWs as they were regular production M3s that PTG made similar in appearance to the not-yet-built LTW. After press duties, those two cars were brought back into the PTG stable.
Racing history
Outside of multiple cars raced in the BMW CCA Club Racing series (an amateur series specific only to BMW models) PTG had between two to four models that they raced in
IMSA. It seems that one of those cars was sold to Jeff McMillian, in which he won the SCCA World Challenge series, without winning a single race. One was raced in the SCCA's Touring 1 class by John Browne. The now defunct team Massari Muller won the 1998 Motorola Cup "Grand Sport class" championship with drivers Terry Borcheller and Andy Pilgrim in an M3