| New Racer | American Le Mans Series | BMW M3 |

There's no mistaking what this M3 is for: racing. BMW has radically altered the M3 road car to come up with this race version, which will compete in the 2009 American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Packing 485bhp from its 4.0-litre V8 engine and driving through a six-speed sequential racing gearbox, the M3 racer has a top speed of up to 200mph - depending on which track it's racing at.

Other than the wild front and rear wings to keep the car pinned to the ground at racing speeds, the M3 has six-piston front brakes and 18-inch alloy wheels. There's also a built-in jacking system to make wheel changes as quick as possible during races.

The first cars will be run by the Rahal Letterman Racing team, headed by American racing legend Bobby Rahal. The other name in the team's name is David Letterman, talk show host and keen racing enthusiast.

Rahal said: "BMW has an illustrious racing heritage and Rahal Letterman Racing is eagerly anticipating becoming a part of that heritage and helping to enhance it."

A full testing programme is planned throughout 2008 to make the car race-ready at the start of the 2009 season. Test drivers will include Britain's Andy Priaulx, who is currently competing in the World Touring Car Championship, but it's thought he will switch to the ALMS championship for 2009.

BMW has not confirmed if the M3 will race at the real Le Mans in 2009, but insiders say there is a good chance the company will field a team to take on the Porsche 911s.

Alisdair Suttie - 11 Feb 2008