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In the United States, the E46 M3 competed in the [[2000 American Le Mans Series#GT Standings|2000 American Le Mans Series GT category]] and finished third in the championship. The straight-six engine was viewed as uncompetitive compared to the [[Porsche 911 GT3#996 GT3|Porsche 996 GT3]], therefore BMW began to develop a new M3 racing car based around a more powerful engine. The resulting E46 GTR racing car was introduced in February 2001 and was powered by a {{convert|330|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}} version of the {{convert|3997|cc|L|1|abbr=on}} [[BMW P60B40|P60]] V8 engine.<ref name="M3 GTR Legends of the Autobahn2">{{cite web |title=2001 BMW M3 GTR Race and Road Cars To Be Presented at Legends of the Autobahn Concours D'Elegance |url=https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa/article/detail/T0229402EN_US/2001-bmw-m3-gtr-race-and-road-cars-to-be-presented-at-legends-of-the-autobahn-concours-d%E2%80%99elegance?language=en_US |access-date=25 August 2017 |website=press.bmwgroup.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 2003 |title=BMW M3 GTR |url=http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/bmw-m3-gtr-specialty-file |access-date=25 August 2017 |website=Car and Driver}}</ref> With a more powerful engine than the straight-six powered M3 versions (which were outpaced by the competition), the GTR won the 2001 [[American Le Mans Series]] GT category, driven by [[Jörg Müller]].
The eligibility of the GTR was the subject of controversy, with some rival teams believing that the GTR was an in-house prototype vehicle rather than a production model available for purchase by the general public. The ALMS homologation rules for 2001 required the M3 GTR road car to be sold on at least two continents within twelve months of the rules being issued, which BMW claimed to fulfill by stating that 10 GTR road cars were available for sale. The ALMS rules were altered for 2002, now requiring that 100 cars and 1,000 engines must be built for a car to qualify without penalties. The GTR road car was never intended for production on this scale, so BMW withdrew the GTR from competition at this point.
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