| Car Name: | BMW Z4 GTE |
| Category: | American Le Mans Series GT (2013) United SportsCar Championship GTLM (2014-2015) European Le Mans Series (2015) |
| Constructor: | BMW |
| Predecessor: | BMW M3 GT2 |
| Successor: | BMW M6 GTLM |
| Team: | / BMW Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMW Sports Trophy Marc VDS |
| Drivers: | Bill Auberlen Maxime Martin Jörg Müller Joey HandUwe Alzen Dirk Müller John Edwards Andy PriaulxDirk Werner Graham Rahal Bruno Spengler |
| Chassis: | Unitary construction steel body with welded safety cell made of extremely rigid precision steel tubing; safety fuel tank in CRP sandwich tray; pneumatic four-stamp jack system |
| Front Suspension: | MacPherson axle with pushrods and wishbone, additionally with adjustable shock absorbers, H&R coil springs |
| Rear Suspension: | As front |
| Engine Name: | BMW P65B44 |
| Configuration: | V8 90° cylinder angle, 32-valve, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, |
| Turbo/Na: | naturally aspirated (no turbocharger), |
| Engine Position: | front engined, longitudinally mounted |
| Power: | at 7000 rpm (including air restrictor) @ 7500 rpm (excluding air restrictor), Over at 5500 rpm torque |
| Gearbox Name: | Hewland/Xtrac |
| Gears: | 6-speed |
| Type: | semi-automatic, paddle-shift gearbox, |
| Differential: | mechanical limited slip differential with additional oil/air cooler |
| Weight: | (excluding driver and fuel) (including driver and fuel) |
| Fuel: | VP Racing Fuels Ethanol E85 + 15% gasoline |
| Lubricants: | Castrol EDGE later Pennzoil |
| Tyres: | Michelin Front: 300/680 - R18 Rear: 310/710 - R18 BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik/O.Z. Racing aluminum wheels Front: 12.5 x 18 inches Rear: 13 x 18 inches |
| Debut: | 2013 12 Hours of Sebring |
| Races: | 35 |
| Wins: | 6 |
| Cons Champ: | 0 |
| Drivers Champ: | 0 |
| Poles: | 4 |
| Fastest Laps: | 2 |
| Last Event: | 2015 4 Hours of Estoril |
| Last Win: | 2015 4 Hours of Estoril |
| First Win: | 2013 American Le Mans Series at Long Beach |
The BMW Z4 GTE is a racing car which competed in the sports car races such as the American Le Mans Series, Tudor United SportsCar Championship and European Le Mans Series. It competed from 2013 to 2015 and was replaced in 2016 by the M6 GTLM.[1]
In late 2012, BMW Motorsport set out to replace the successful M3 GT/GT2, a car which brought BMW two team and manufacturers' championships (2010 & 2011), one drivers' championship (2011), back to back Sebring 12 Hour GT class wins in 2011 and 2012 in the American Le Mans Series, as well as numerous victories in the then Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (now the World Endurance Championship) in Europe. BMW turned to the successful Z4 GT3 platform to develop a LM GTE specification race car for the ALMS, and any GTE class series.
The Z4 GTE uses the Z4 body and the same 4.4-litre V8 engine as the GT3 car. The drivetrain and gearbox are much the same in the two different types of Z4. The engine in the GT3 version produces around 500 horsepower, likewise in the GTE version, but the RPM limits are 9000, and 7500, respectively. Most of the differences between the two automobiles are in aerodynamics. The GT3 car has a much more sophisticated aero, with a set of winglets on the front fenders to provide additional downforce. Both cars share a front splitter, while the GTE has slight modifications on the side edges to condition the airflow around the front wheels. The GT3 version also has a double-deck rear wing, with the GTE car having a single deck wing. The rear diffuser is also less aggressive in the GTE car; it also has much wider bodywork in the rear of the car, with heavily modified aero around the wheel arches, front, and specifically rear, compared to the GT3.
The car was debuted at the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring by BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing running competitively despite being a new car. Leading the GTE class at times, both Z4 GTEs encountered suspension problems with three hours to go and went 3–5 laps down from the class leaders. The cars also showed exceptional handling, but a slight lack of straight-line speed as a result. The 2013 Long Beach Grand Prix proved to be the first win for the car, with the #55 Z4 GTE driven by Bill Auberlen and Maxime Martin driving a fine race, bringing home a 1-2 finish for BMW. A second win for the #56 car of John Edwards and Dirk Muller from pole position at Lime Rock Park proved the pace of the car.
The Z4 GTE will feature in the GTLM class of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship - a merger of the ALMS and Grand-Am, debuting at the 2014 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
Turner Motorsport won the inaugural 2014 Tudor United SportsCar GT-Daytona Championship with an altered version of the Z4 GT3. Drivers Dane Cameron and Markus Palttala won four races (Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen 6-Hour, Road America, and Virginia) with Cameron earning the pole position for the 12 Hours of Sebring. To compete in the GTD class, the Turner Z4 lost its GT3-spec aerodynamics, ABS, and traction control systems.
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
| Entrant | Class | Drivers | Rounds | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |||||||||
| 2013 | BMW Team RLL | GT | Bill Auberlen Maxime Martin Jörg Müller Joey Hand Uwe Alzen | 55 | 1-9 1-7, 9-10 1, 10 8 10 | SEB 4 | LBH 1 | LAG DNF | LRP 4 | MOS 5 | ELK 7 | BAL 4 | COA 4 | VIR 5 | PET 4 | 2nd | 140 | |
| Dirk Müller Joey Hand John Edwards Bill Auberlen | 56 | All 1-2, 5, 7, 9 1, 3-4, 6, 8, 10 10 | SEB 7 | LBH 2 | LAG 3 | LRP 1 | MOS 6 | ELK 8 | BAL 3 | COA 3 | VIR 4 | PET 2 | ||||||
| Sources:[2] [3] | ||||||||||||||||||
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
| Entrant | Class | Drivers | Rounds | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||||||
| 2014 | BMW Team RLL | GTLM | Bill Auberlen Andy Priaulx Joey Hand Maxime Martin | 55 | All All 1-2, 11 1 | DAY 2 | SEB 3 | LBH 6 | LGA 2 | WGL 10 | MOS 6 | IMS 6 | ELK 8 | VIR 4 | COT 6 | PET 10 | 7th | 298 | |
| John Edwards Dirk Müller Dirk Werner Graham Rahal | 56 | All All 1-2, 11 1 | DAY 4 | SEB 10 | LBH 2 | LGA 10 | WGL 6 | MOS 4 | IMS 7 | ELK 2 | VIR 3 | COT 7 | PET 7 | 5th | 300 | ||||
| 2015 | BMW Team RLL | GTLM | John Edwards Lucas Luhr Jens Klingmann Graham Rahal | 24 | All All 1-2, 10 1 | DAY 4 | SEB 4 | LBGP 5 | LGA 1 | WGL 8 | MOS 2 | ELK 6 | VIR 4 | AUS 7 | PET 2 | 5th | 291 | ||
| Bill Auberlen Dirk Werner Augusto Farfus Bruno Spengler | 25 | All All 1-2, 10 1 | DAY 2 | SEB 8 | LBGP 1 | LGA 2 | WGL 3 | MOS 4 | ELK 5 | VIR 5 | AUS 1 | PET 4 | 2nd | 305 | |||||
| Sources:[4] [5] | |||||||||||||||||||
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
| Entrant | Class | Drivers | Rounds | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 79 | 2nd | |||||||
| 2015 | BMW Sports Trophy Marc VDS | LMGTE |  Henry Hassid Jesse Krohn Andy Priaulx | 52 | All All All | SIL 4 | IMO 4 | RBR 4 | LEC 2 | EST 1 | |||
| Source:[6] | |||||||||||||