Z4 GT3 SHAKEDOWN

There's no denying the MMR Z4 GT3 is a work of motorsport art. Carbon fibre exterior, beautifully engineered by BMW Motorsport throughout and packing a substantial 515bhp and 515Nm power and torque hit respectively thanks to the 4.4-litre V8 engine nestling, you guessed it, under yet more carbon fibre.

Before we could even contemplate driving it in anger however, there was the small matter of the 233 pages of BMW Motorsport's vehicle documentation to digest which included everything from how and where to check the levels, to starting procedures and more... and that was before we tackled the separate drivers' guide!

With Max's bedtime reading sorted for the next few nights the car was given a thorough going over to ensure all the levels were as specified with particular attention given to the Xtrac differential and of course, the engine.

We mention the differential as this was actually upgraded from the original unit supplied with this car to a 223 Xtrac unit.

You can see from the sheer size of the casing and input and output drive interfaces that this is a seriously heavy duty bit of kit, able to withstand the rigours of GT racing and pretty much anything you can throw at it, for that matter.

With everything checking out as it should, fluids checked and double-checked, the engine could be warmed up; the car was raised on its inbuilt air-jacks and the start-up sequence initiated.

Due to the tolerances used in this V8, particularly relating to the piston-to-bore clearance, time is needed for the various materials to expand to their natural state before being used aggressively... whilst understanding the level of detail that goes into a race car like this takes a bit of head space, the raw driving pleasure it gives once you get on the move is something else, check out the short videos below to see what we mean!

It's also one of the only cars we've ever known to get louder, the further away it gets... which works for us when the tune being played is that of a BMW M V8 like this!

Expect to see plenty more of our Z4 with a full program of track activity lined up (subject to Covid-19 restrictions) which we'll be sharing with you right here and of course, on our social channels.