BMW M3 GTS (E92): history, specs, production numbers and values

The BMW M3 GTS is a two-seat sports coupe: a lightweight, track-ready version of the E92 M3 Coupe, the M car of the fifth-generation BMW 3 Series, that BMW M GmbH built by hand at Garching from 2010 to 2011. It has a 4.4-litre V8 of 331 kW (450 PS, 444 bhp), a two-seat cabin with a roll bar, adjustable suspension and aerodynamics, Fire Orange paint and a DIN kerb weight of 1,530 kg. evo and Supercar Nostalgia record that up to 150 were planned; the factory's own 2011 figure is 135 built, and later counts give 138.

Buyers and enthusiasts look the car up because it is the most powerful V8 M3 coupe and the rarest M3 coupe of its generation (only the 67-car M3 CRT saloon is rarer), it was never sold in the United States, and its value has risen well above its list price: the first car built sold for €269,375 in 2025, against €136,850 new in Germany. In the UK it cost £117,630 in 2011, and only 15 to 17 right-hand-drive cars were supplied new to the UK, by the counts of Auto Express and a London dealer.

History of the BMW M3 GTS

The M3 GTS was announced in November 2009 as a club-sport car, sold it out within three months and delivered the first cars in the summer of 2010. Its brief was a road-registered M3 that an owner could drive to a circuit, race at a club event and drive home.

Why BMW M built a club-sport M3

The model it followed was the E46 M3 CSL of 2003, a lighter, more powerful M3 whose Nordschleife time of 7 minutes 50 seconds the M3 GTS was meant to beat. By 2009 the E92 M3 was racing in two forms. The M3 GT4, a customer racing car from BMW's Motorsport Distribution division, made its Nordschleife debut in April 2009 at the ADAC Westfalenfahrt, where Jörg Müller and Jochen Übler won the SP10 class, according to BMW's April 2009 customer racing release. The M3 GT2 was racing at long-distance events in Europe and the American Le Mans Series.

Dr Kay Segler, head of BMW M GmbH, presented the M3 GTS as an answer to buyers. "The BMW M3 GTS which we are currently preparing in our BMW M production workshop is a response to frequently expressed customer wishes," he said at the unveiling, quoted by CAR magazine. CAR added each car would be built to order in the workshop that built the GT4 race cars.

The November 2009 reveal

BMW's first press release, dated November 2009, called the GTS "ready to start, on the road too" and said the car would be built only to customer order, with sales from spring 2010. It promised a DIN weight below 1,500 kg, about 450 PS from a 4.4-litre V8, a roll bar bolted in behind the B-pillar and mounting points for six-point harnesses. CAR magazine and Autocar gave the expected price as €115,000, which CAR put at £103,000.

SkiddMark's November 2009 article recorded the early claims: a prototype said to have lapped the Nordschleife in under 7 minutes 40 seconds, a weight about 160 kg below the standard E92 M3, and 225/35 front and 285/30 rear Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres on 19-inch wheels. It noted that it was the first M car with fixed brake calipers, with six pistons at the front and four at the rear.

The car's first public run was at the final MotoGP round of 2009 in Valencia, where Valentino Rossi drove it after collecting the BMW M Award for the season's best qualifier. "It was amazing in the GTS. Just amazing. It was great, especially under braking with the light weight that it has," Rossi said, in words quoted by Autocar and SkiddMark. SkiddMark wrote at the time that more than 300 serious enquiries had come in during the three days since the launch, and that Rossi asked Thomas Schemera, BMW M's sales and marketing director, how he could buy one.

Sold out before the first car was built

In January 2010 Segler told the Dutch magazine Autovisie that every GTS had been sold, less than three months after the reveal, GTspirit wrote. On 12 May 2010 the market launch of the M3 GTS was announced with final figures: 331 kW (450 PS), 1,530 kg and 305 km/h. A separate price sheet gave €136,850 in Germany, including 19 per cent VAT, with the German market launch in July 2010.

Right-hand-drive cars went on sale in January 2011, SkiddMark said in May 2010, and the small UK allocation had already sold. Auto Express drove one of the first at Cadwell Park in March 2011 and gave the price as £117,630, a premium of £64,555 over a standard M3.

Why the M3 GTS was not sold in the US

BMW North America did not import the M3 GTS because the car met neither US emissions rules nor federal safety standards. Larry Koch, the M brand manager in the US, explained in an interview BMW NA gave to Bimmerfile in February 2010 that making it compliant "would be a very costly affair" for a car priced at €110,000 before US homologation, and that his customers preferred to buy a standard M3 Coupe for under $60,000 and modify it. With no cars sold there, Americans have since built replicas: one, re-engined with a 4.6-litre V8, sold on Bring a Trailer for $133,000 in May 2022, according to BMWBlog.

BMW M3 GTS design and engineering

The M3 GTS starts as a standard E92 M3 Coupe, and the changes cover its engine, gearbox calibration, suspension, brakes, aerodynamics and interior, all listed in BMW's May 2010 technical specification. The body shell, the carbon-fibre roof and the axle designs carry over.

Engine: power and torque of the 4.4-litre S65 V8

The engine is a longer-stroke version of the M3's S65 V8. The stroke rises from 75.2 mm to 82 mm on the same 92 mm bore, taking the capacity from 3,999 cc to 4,361 cc. Peak power is 331 kW (450 PS) at 8,300 rpm against the standard car's 309 kW (420 PS), and torque rises by 40 Nm to 440 Nm at 3,750 rpm. In British terms that is 444 bhp and 324 lb ft against 414 bhp and 295 lb ft. The compression ratio stays at 12.0:1, and the crankcase is a bedplate design in an aluminium-silicon alloy with individual throttles, ionic-current knock sensing and a wet-sump oil system. The exhaust has model-specific primary catalysts and titanium rear silencers.

Transmission: seven-speed M DCT only

The only transmission is the seven-speed M Dual Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic, developed with Getrag. For the GTS it has shift characteristics tuned to the bigger engine and a final drive of 3.154:1, and Supercar Nostalgia adds that it holds more oil and has its own software. There was no manual GTS. The gear ratios run from 4.780:1 in first to a direct 1.000:1 in seventh. The Variable M differential lock, a limited-slip differential, carries over from the standard M3.

Chassis: suspension, brakes and wheels

The front and rear axles are the M3 Coupe's, but the rear subframe is bolted rigidly to the body and the car runs on coilover suspension with dampers adjustable separately in compression and rebound. Camber and ride height are adjustable; as delivered the car sits 16 mm lower at the front and 12 mm lower at the rear. The brakes have fixed calipers, six-piston at the front and four-piston at the rear, on discs of 378 mm and 380 mm diameter, which are 18 mm and 30 mm larger than the M3's, with steel-braided hoses. The wheels are matt black 19-inch Y-spoke alloys, 9J at the front and 10J at the rear, on 255/35 and 285/30 tyres.

Aerodynamics

The aero kit has two adjustable parts. The front apron has air-guide elements and a splitter, and the boot carries a rear wing whose angle can be changed to suit a circuit. The factory said the wing was based on the one used by the 320si in the World Touring Car Championship. The kidney grille, roof trims and wheels are matt black, and the side gills are in dark anodised chrome.

Weight saving and the two-seat cockpit

The M3 GTS has no rear seats, and it has polycarbonate rear side windows and rear screen, a lighter centre console and door panels, and less sound insulation. Air conditioning and the audio system, standard on the M3, were deleted but could be ordered back. Inside are racing bucket seats, carbon trim, an Alcantara M steering wheel and Alcantara door and rear side linings. A roll bar is bolted in behind the B-pillars, with mounting points for an optional extension to a roll cage. Three-point inertia-reel belts are fitted for the road, and every car came with a pair of six-point harnesses and a fire extinguisher. Supercar Nostalgia's history of the model names the seats as Recaro buckets, the Profi SPG model, and says the harnesses were supplied but not fitted at the factory. The boot holds a tool kit with C-spanners for adjusting the suspension and aerodynamics. The dashboard is the pre-facelift E92's, with no infotainment screen; evo's Richard Meaden lists a Power button for throttle response, a button for the gearbox's shift speed and a switch to turn off the stability control.

Fire Orange and the options

The launch material describes the M3 GTS as recognisable "by its bright orange single-coloured body", and Fire Orange was the only colour on the order form. Supercar Nostalgia says two cars are believed to have left Garching in Alpine White. Each car carries its production number on a plaque on the passenger side of the carbon dashboard; car number 001 and car number 8 have both been through RM Sotheby's auctions. Supercar Nostalgia lists the only options as air conditioning, an audio system and a full roll cage, and says that ordering the audio system replaced the polycarbonate rear windows with glass.

BMW M3 GTS specs and performance

The GTS has 30 PS more than an E92 M3, weighs 70 kg less and reaches 100 km/h 0.5 seconds sooner, on the factory's figures. The table sets the May 2010 M3 GTS specification against the M3 Coupe with M DCT.

How fast is the BMW M3 GTS?

The factory quotes 0–100 km/h (62 mph) for the M3 GTS in 4.4 seconds, the standing kilometre in 22.5 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h, or 190 mph. The standard M3 is limited to 250 km/h. Measured by the German magazine sport auto in 2010, the GTS reached 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and 200 km/h in 14.1 seconds, according to BimmerToday's summary of the sport auto test.

M3 GTS Nürburgring lap time

The independent Nordschleife time is 7 minutes 48 seconds, set by sport auto in its Supertest in August 2010. That was two seconds quicker than the E46 M3 CSL's 7:50 and a second ahead of the 512 PS Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at 7:49, but 15 seconds behind the Porsche 911 GT3 RS at 7:33. The GTS did better at the Hockenheim short circuit, where it lapped in 1:12.5 against 1:13.5 for the CSL and 1:14.3 for the standard M3. BimmerToday wrote that the time was "worse than many expected" (in German, "schlechter als von vielen erwartet"), because people had hoped for a bigger step over the CSL.

How many BMW M3 GTS were made?

The factory's own figure is 135 units. Announced as a run of up to 150, according to evo and Supercar Nostalgia, the car was built in batches at the M workshop in Garching, and BMW's June 2011 press release for the M3 CRT said the GTS was a car "of which 135 examples were produced". RM Sotheby's catalogues used 135 in 2018 and 2025. Other sources give 138: RM Sotheby's catalogue for its 2023 Villa Erba sale, evo in 2023 and Supercar Nostalgia, which dates production from May 2010 to December 2011, six months after the factory's count of 135.

How many right-hand-drive M3 GTS are in the UK?

Sources disagree. Auto Express wrote in March 2011 that 15 right-hand-drive cars were coming to the UK. Supercar Nostalgia gives 25 right-hand-drive cars in total, which would include cars for other right-hand-drive markets. The London dealer Romans International says, from its own sources, that 17 cars were supplied new to the UK and that eight have since been exported.

The M3 CRT: the saloon with the GTS engine

The 4.4-litre engine was used once more, in the M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technology) saloon of 2011, built in a run of 67. The CRT has the same 331 kW (450 PS) output and 0–100 km/h time of 4.4 seconds, but it kept four seats, navigation and a hi-fi, and it saved weight with a carbon bonnet and front seats made by the process developed for the BMW i3 and i8. Its DIN weight is 1,580 kg, its top speed is limited to 290 km/h, and it was painted Frozen Polar Silver, according to the June 2011 release.

The GTS name returned on the F82 M4 GTS of 2015, a turbocharged six-cylinder car covered on SkiddMark's BMW M4 F82 page.

The M3 GTS and BMW's E92 racing cars

The M3 GTS is a road car, homologated for the street and sold for club-sport events and track days. The racing E92s were separate machines built to series rules. The M3 GT4 was sold to customer teams, and at the 2009 Nürburgring 24 Hours one was entered by Schubert Motorsport for Jörg Müller, Andy Priaulx and the sport auto journalists Marcus Schurig and Jochen Übler. The M3 GT2 was the works GT car of 2009 and 2010.

What the GTS took from the racing cars was the hardware sold to their owners: the adjustable splitter and wing, the fixed-calliper brakes, the coilovers and the harness and fire-system preparation. The November 2009 release added a racing-style emergency cut-off preparation to the equipment list.

How much is a BMW M3 GTS worth?

Recent public auction results put a good M3 GTS at about €170,000 to €270,000, or £190,000 for a 60-mile UK car, well above its new price of €136,850 or £117,630. Few cars come up for sale, and the best-documented prices are from RM Sotheby's sales.

The Monaco 2018 lot and the Villa Erba 2023 lot are on RM's site. The Munich estimate is in RM's press release for the sale and the result in BMWBlog's article of 28 October 2025, which found that the lowest recorded price was £135,000, paid for a right-hand-drive car in the UK in 2020. The Antrim car's details and price are from Kuruma News.

Mileage and build number account for much of the spread. The Munich car was the first built and had covered 176 km; the Villa Erba car had 9,934 km, and the unsold Monaco car about 6,000 km.

Owning a BMW M3 GTS

The GTS shares its engine family, gearbox and most of its electronics with the E92 M3, so the known S65 faults apply. The most expensive is wear in the connecting-rod bearings, which Car Throttle's E92 M3 buying guide puts down to the tight clearance between crank and bearings, worsened by hard revving on cold oil. It prices preventive replacement at around £1,500 against about £8,000 for a rebuilt bottom end.

Other faults to check

The S65 has two throttle actuators, one per bank, and a failing one can put the car into limp mode; Car Throttle gives about £600 to refurbish them. The M DCT gearbox has a plastic sump that can leak, and the guide budgets £600 to £800 to fix it with a change of the eight litres of gearbox oil and the filters. On a GTS, check that the coilover settings and the camber are where the owner says they are, that the polycarbonate windows are unscratched, and that the car still has its six-point harnesses, extinguisher and the boot tool kit for the suspension and wing.

Running costs

The official EU figures for the M3 GTS are 12.7 l/100 km (22.2 mpg) combined and 18.4 l/100 km in town, with CO2 of 295 g/km. A UK car registered in 2011 falls into the top band of the vehicle excise duty table for cars registered from March 2001, band M for more than 255 g/km, at £790 a year as of October 2026. The engine takes 8.8 litres of oil.

BMW M3 GTS rivals

The GTS was priced and built against the Porsche 911 GT3 RS of the 997 generation. In 2010 sport auto timed the GT3 RS at 7:33 on the Nordschleife and 1:09.6 at Hockenheim, well ahead of the GTS's 7:48 and 1:12.5, and Auto Express's Steve Sutcliffe described the Porsche as "then-cheaper". SkiddMark noted in November 2009 that the 911 GT3 cost €116,000 in Germany, close to the GTS's expected €115,000, and about £84,000 in the UK.

Other cars close to the GTS in sport auto's tables were the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, at 7:49 on the Nordschleife, and the Audi R8 V8 and Ferrari F430, both at 1:12.7 at Hockenheim. Within the M range, the closest cars are the E46 M3 CSL, which is lighter but has a six-cylinder engine and no roll bar or harnesses, and the M3 CRT saloon of 2011.

Reviews and reception

Road testers liked the car and questioned the price. Jonny Smith of Auto Express, driving it at Cadwell Park in 2011, praised its steering and wrote that the dual-clutch gearbox "changes ratio with amazing speed". The German magazines were cooler on its lap times: BimmerToday called the 7:48 "worse than many expected". Steve Sutcliffe, who drove the car again for Auto Express in 2022, wrote that it had "seemed ridiculously expensive at £118k" when new but "feels utterly addictive" now, and that on a circuit it lets a driver do things "that in most other models, G80 M3 included, you can't even contemplate trying".

Richard Meaden drove a GTS across Snowdonia for evo in November 2023 and wrote that BMW "drew criticism for asking too much money" against Porsche's GT3 models. He singled out the hydraulic steering and the engine, which pulls to an 8,300 rpm red line through a titanium exhaust, and concluded that "by any benchmark the M3 GTS is The Real Deal".

Questions

Is the BMW M3 GTS road legal?

Yes. BMW sold it as a road-registered car for club-sport events, with three-point belts for the road and a set of six-point harnesses supplied for the track. It was never certified for sale in the United States.

Does the M3 GTS have rear seats?

No. The rear seats were removed to save weight, and a roll bar painted Fire Orange is bolted in behind the front seats where they were.

How much did the BMW M3 GTS cost new?

€136,850 in Germany in 2010, including 19 per cent VAT, and £117,630 in the UK in 2011, which Auto Express put at £64,555 more than a standard M3.

Is the M3 GTS faster than the E46 M3 CSL?

Yes, by a small margin on track. sport auto timed the GTS at 7:48 on the Nordschleife against 7:50 for the CSL, and at 1:12.5 against 1:13.5 at Hockenheim.

How much does the BMW M3 GTS weigh?

BMW gives 1,530 kg unladen to DIN, including the roll bar and M DCT gearbox, and 1,605 kg to the EU standard. A standard E92 M3 Coupe with M DCT weighs 1,600 kg to DIN.

Was there a manual M3 GTS?

No. Every GTS has the seven-speed M Dual Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic, with its own shift settings for the 4.4-litre engine.

Sources

• BMW Group, "All clear given for market launch of the BMW M3 GTS", press release, 12 May 2010: engine, chassis, aerodynamics, weight, equipment, performance.
• BMW Group, "The BMW M3 GTS", technical specifications, May 2010: the specification table, economy and CO2.
• BMW Group, "The BMW M3 GTS: Price for Germany", 11 May 2010: German price, July 2010 launch, Garching production.
• BMW Group, "Startbereit – auch auf der Straße: Der BMW M3 GTS", press release, November 2009: built to order, spring 2010 launch, weight target, equipment.
• BMW Group, "BMW M3 GT4 celebrates 24-hour premiere at the Nürburgring", 8 April 2009: M3 GT4 debut and 24-hour entry.
• BMW Group, "Intelligent lightweight design paves the way for even higher performance: the BMW M3 CRT", 23 June 2011, as published by PistonHeads: 135 GTS built, M3 CRT details.
• BimmerToday, "BMW M3 GTS umrundet die Nordschleife in 7:48 Minuten", 20 August 2010: the sport auto Supertest lap times and acceleration, rival times.
• Bimmerfile, "Why no M3 GTS for us?", 2 February 2010: Larry Koch on the US market.
• GTspirit, "Sold Out: 2011 BMW M3 GTS", 26 January 2010: Segler's sell-out statement to Autovisie.
• Autocar, "Rossi samples BMW M3 GTS", November 2009: Valencia debut, Rossi quote, expected price.
• RM Sotheby's, 2011 BMW M3 GTS, Monaco 2018, lot 178: car no. 8 of 135, estimate, not sold.
• RM Sotheby's, 2010 BMW M3 GTS, Villa Erba 2023, lot 131: 138 built, history, €172,500.
• RM Sotheby's, "A massive collection of rare BMW M cars is set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby's Munich auction", 2025: Munich estimate.
• BMWBlog, "The First BMW E92 M3 GTS Just Sold for Over $350,000", 28 October 2025: car 001 result and mileage; earlier sales.
• BMWBlog, E92 M3 GTS replica on Bring a Trailer, August 2025: US replica sold for $133,000 in 2022.
• Kuruma News, article on the RM Sotheby's Antrim sale, 2025: 60-mile UK car sold for £190,000.
• Romans International, BMW M3 GTS listing, read 28 October 2026: UK-supplied and exported cars.
• Car Throttle, "8 Things You Need To Know Before Buying An E92 BMW M3", updated 10 October 2024: S65 and M DCT faults and costs.
• CAR magazine, "BMW M3 GTS (2010) unveiled: a new M3 CSL", November 2009: Segler quote, build in the GT4 workshop, expected price.
• Auto Express, Jonny Smith, "BMW M3 GTS" review, 4 March 2011: UK price and premium, 15 right-hand-drive cars, Cadwell Park drive.
• Auto Express, Steve Sutcliffe, "BMW E92 M3 GTS: best BMW M cars", updated 19 November 2024: £118k list price, driving impressions.
• evo, Richard Meaden, "BMW M3 GTS (E92, 2010-2011): review, history and specs of an icon", 15 November 2023: 138 built, UK price, Snowdonia drive.
• Supercar Nostalgia, Ben Tyer, "Guide: the M3 goes Club Sport", 2 April 2024: production dates, 138 and 25 right-hand-drive cars, seats, options, standard M3 comparison figures.
• SkiddMark, "BMW reveals the M3 GTS", November 2009, "BMW debuts its 450 PS M3 GTS", May 2010, and "Rossi wins BMW M Award and drives new M3 GTS", November 2009: prototype lap claim, tyres, calipers, enquiries, German prices of the 911 GT3, UK sale date.
• GOV.UK, vehicle tax rates for cars registered on or after 1 March 2001, read 28 October 2026: tax band.