Carbon Fiber Sedan? Yes, Please!

2012 BMW M3 CRT

Many Top Gear fans have heard Clarkson pester about saying that if there's one car that you must have in your sports car garage, it's the BMW M3, whether it be the coupe or the sedan, and I agree with him. BMW think so too, but have always tried to spice the car up to make it appealing to other people with specials such as the Competition Coupe, the Frozen Gray, the Frozen Black, the Carbon Edition, the Tiger Edition, and the GTS. And now, it seems we'll be adding one more to the list as BMW have just pulled the covers off the M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technologies). Think of it as the M3 GTS, but with 5 seats instead of 2, carbon fiber accents, racing bucket seats, and no fire extinguisher. Also, while the M3 GTS is a day-in-day-out all track screamer, the M3 CRT is a day-in-day-out all track family screamer with navigation, a premium stereo system, and iPod connectivity. Even though it includes these heavy units, the sedan has done much shedding of weight with lightweight brakes, carbon fiber seats, carbon fiber hood, 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels, and a lightweight titanium muffler. But, even though it's all light and dainty, the aggressiveness and brilliance of the M3 still exists with it's brilliant chassis and suspension. It's even added a carbon fiber front splitter and rear aero spoiler. Heck, it's given itself a more powerful 4.4-liter 450 horsepower V8 engine, which has been mated with BMW's new and improved 7-speed Dual-Clutch gearbox, as seen on the new M5. Because of this, it will do 0 to 60 in, say 4.4 seconds and hit a limited top speed of 155 MPH. You want one? That's good, cuz only 67 will be made, and seeing that M3 has become quite a popular car, you better get in line fast. And as for the U.S., there's no word on whether this beast will make it to our shores, but it mostly won't due to safety regulations.