BMW recreates Need for Speed Most Wanted’s iconic M3 GTR

To celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Need for Speed and the release of Unbound’s Vol.9 update, BMW has created a real-life version of Most Wanted’s iconic hero car, the 2005 M3 GTR E46.

It will be displayed at the BMW Welt exhibition in Munich, Germany, from 27^th November to 6^th January.

While there have been plenty of M3 GTR tribute cars over the years, this is the real deal. Rather than creating a lookalike based on a standard M3 E46 like most tribute cars, BMW used an actual M3 GTR, according to a Need for Speed blog update.

Not just any M3 GTR either, but the #42 Team car raced by Jörg Müller and J.J. Lehto in the 2001 American Le Mans Series. The same car won that year’s ALMS GT Series, with Muller taking the drivers’ championship and BMW Motorsport securing the team championship title.

After it was retrieved storage, BMW wrapped the M3 GTR in a distinctive blue and silver livery mimicking Most Wanted’s hero car, with the original paintwork preserved underneath. Since it’s based on an actual M3 GTR, it’s easily the most authentic recreation yet.    

BMW’s race car played a central role in the original 2005 Most Wanted game. At the start of the game, your M3 GTR is stolen by Clarence “Razor” Callahan. You then spend the campaign defeating the most wanted street racers on the ‘Blacklist’, before being reunited with the silver and blue M3 GTR after beating Razor at the end of the game.

One of the most recognisable and beloved cars in Need for Speed’s 30-year history, it’s since appeared in titles like NFS Carbon, No Limits and Heat.

It’s also playable in Need for Speed Unbound as part of the Vol.9 update wrapped in a special 30th-anniversary livery, unlocked after obtaining every ‘Blacklist’ car in the new Lockdown multiplayer mode.

Alongside the new multiplayer mode, the Vol.9 update introduces Need for Speed’s first-ever rideable motorbike, with the BMW S 1000 RR available in Lockdown mode and select PVP playlists.