Bill Auberlen is no stranger to the E92 M3 GT. He drove the E92 M3 GT during the ALMS (American Le Mans Series) and not does hot laps with it ever now and again, for BMW promotional material. In this latest video, you get to see Auberlin at the helm from inside the car and it’s cool to see what a racing drier sees while properly pushing it.
However, the highlight of this video its he noise. The E92 M3 GT uses a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, BMW’s P65 engine. It’s a brilliant engine that sounds absolutely sensational. When you hear it in this video, it’s almost hard to believe it only makes around 500 horsepower when unlimited. However, for ALMS rules during its racing career, it only made 460 horsepower while on track.
I actually can’t recall any other race car sounding this sonorous. The way its deep, thunderous low-rev noise turns into a high-pitched wail at high revs is sensational and among the best engine noises I’ve ever heard from a BMW. The stock E92 M3’s S65 V8 sounds pretty epic too, especially with a Dinan exhaust. So if you want a noise like this from your road car, the E92 M3 is the way to go.
Sadly, we couldn’t actually get on board with Auberlen for this video, as it would have been fun to actually experience the car first hand. It is, after all, a race car and lacks a passenger seat.However, this on board view is probably the closest many of us are ever going to get to experiencing a proper BMW race car.
While it would have been cool to actually ride shotgun next to Auberlen, it’s still awesome to watch him work in this video. He dominated the Sebring 12 Hour in this very car. Even more than that, though, the BMW Team RLL swept all categories in 2011, winning the GT manufacturer, team and driver championships. This very car also took the GT class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring the following yet. After its success, though, the E92 M3 GT was succeeded by the Z4 GTE, which was a fan favorite for BMW motorsport enthusiasts.
Compared to the turbocharged race cars of today, this E92 M3 GT sounds absolutely heavenly and it’s awesome to see what it can do on track from behind the windshield. Check out this video and appreciate a noise that’s vanishing from motorsport at the moment.