Supersportler rocken den Nürburgring

With huge antlers rear of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS has so far been king in the ring. Now also inspired the BMW M3, reduces its weight and drives high performance. Can he catch the penalty?

Von Joerg Maltzan The challenge is orange. Orange fire to be exact: Color Code U 94th The guys in the paint can so ever touch the correct color. Any bets are: the imminent increase in souped-up BMW orange fire not just roll through the Ruhr region. For the fans of the white and blue have a brand new idol, a new king of Bavaria, an absolute top-3. With the BMW M3 GTS brings an opponent of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in position. Lighter, faster, more expensive, flashy, extreme in every respect - that's the trick to drive with the zeal of the Stuttgart-idea to the extreme and hochdopt with BMW's 3 Series now available for road-racing cars. Who is responsible for the accident makes 450 hp believes in Santa Claus too. Fact: The BMW has the exact same performance as the Porsche and fired not only the rear wheels, but also the table.

So what is faster? Front or rear engine? V8 or six-cylinder boxer? Double clutch or manual transmission? M3 or 911? A battle of the systems. The system relies on a BMW Hubverlängerung of the eight cylinders, so that is out of the Vierliter-a 4.4-liter engine. There are also refined engine parts, supplemented by better aerodynamics and lightweight construction. Moreover, the body lies deeper, carries adjustable suspension and has a rigidly locked rear axle, roll cage instead of rear seats and wider wheels. A bona fide racing touring car is the M3 GTS fairly close, and no later than when the start button is pressed, Porsche drivers expected to perk up their ears. What a sound! deafened in the state, roars and rumbles of the eight so voluminous that it drowns out the Porsche. Intimidated chatters the boxer to himself. Accompanied by the rattling of the flywheel, it sounds thin and broken. Fortunately, the penalty can be different.

But first things first. Determined the M3 primed to storm the runway and is like a competition car must be: rich, peaceful, neutral and precise steering response. Even without electronic assistance remains manageable level. Good. Almost 137 000 € finally reluctantly thrown into the botany. However, advanced windows artistes could criticize the poor mobility of the GTS. By screwing in a helpful curves through cycles no trace. At the limit of the BMW tends to understeer, which is about as popular with automotive frontier workers like sumo wrestlers, the gymnastics. His six-cylinder predecessor - the M3 CSL 2003 (E46) - he not only has a short weight ahead of over 100 kilo, but also the almost Cup without tread tires. So that the CSL was on some routes even faster than the then 911 GT3 (996) - a sensation. BMW wants to build today, of course, with his sports equipment.

Lightning changes the Getrag dual-clutch transmission (DCT), the seven steps - perfect for road and track. The series against the M3 has significantly increased fixed caliper brake very snappy and stable. But the lightness of a pure Pistensau goes from the BMW unfortunately. With a curb weight of 1538 pounds, he is almost 140 pounds heavier than the Porsche. BMW boasts of a large proportion of manual work, but if you look closely, discovered on GTS details from the normal high-volume 3 Series as the interior lights in the rear barred, slots for carriers in the carbon fiber roof and steering wheel-functional buttons. All this supports the impression that it is in this super-M3 is a model of the tuning catalog. Despite lightweight it feels a bit in corners at too cumbersome. At the motor is not. On the contrary: Effective even overpowered the normal M3 in places, this trend has further intensified. When accelerating out of corners, he gets his power only with difficulty on the floor. Schwänzelnd he shoots at the line and uses his 450 hp less effective in driving around, when the Porsche can.

Further details about Porsche 911 GT3 RS and BMW M3 CTS, see the gallery. For the full article with all technical data and tables are available for download in the archive.

BMW M3 GTS gegen Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Supersportler am Nürburgring - autobild.de