From E46 M3 GTR to Modern BMW Wins: The V8 Roar and Connor De Phillippi’s Ris

The 2001 BMW M3 GTR is the kind of car that makes you stop mid-sentence. Built to prove a point on American road courses, it arrived with a purpose-built 4.0 liter, dry-sump V 8 engine that delivered about 460 horsepower in race trim. The sound alone felt like a declaration. Under that widened E46 body sat a race chassis that could take abuse, carve through traffic, and still reward a driver’s finesse. For a brief but unforgettable moment in the American Le Mans Series, it was the benchmark everyone chased.

Regulations demanded a roadgoing version, so BMW produced a very small run of “street version” cars. Detuned to about 350 horsepower with a 6 speed manual, the road car kept the spirit of the racer: functional aero, purposeful stance, and a feeling that every throttle press counted for something. The legend only grew when rule changes pushed the race car off the grid after 2001. Its time at the very top was short, but its shadow stretched far—especially for the drivers who grew up watching it change what a Grand Touring car could be.

That is where Connor De Phillippi’s story meets the GTR’s legacy. Connor is a California-born racer who turned karting dreams into global trophies and ultimately became a BMW M works driver. He earned an overall win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, became a champion in German Grand Touring competition, and then helped deliver big victories in the International Motor Sports Association series at Virginia International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. When BMW returned to top-class prototype racing, Connor helped put the M Hybrid V 8 in the winner’s circle, showing the same combination of control, grit, and trust-in-the-car that the M3 GTR embodied.

Watch Connor’s in-car footage and you see a driver who is calm while the world blurs. He trusts the front end to bite. He manages the rear on corner exit with tiny corrections. He knows how to preserve a tire but attack when the moment opens. In that way, he is a modern echo of what made the M3 GTR so special: power with purpose, speed with stamina, and engineering that lets a great driver be great more often.

The M3 GTR still speaks to people because it felt pure. It was not just fast in a straight line. It braked hard. It changed direction crisply. It punished hesitation and rewarded commitment. You did not need to understand rules bulletins or homologation clauses to feel what it was. You only needed to hear that V 8 clear its throat and watch it surge away. Today, when Connor straps into a BMW and fights for a prototype win, you can feel the lineage. The badge is the same, the values are the same, and the mission has not changed: build cars that can win on Sunday and inspire on Monday.