BMW M4 GT4 unveiled at the Nurburgring - Gallery

BMW’s motorsport division has unveiled their latest pre-packaged race car in the form of the M4 GT4 at the Nurburgring this week.

Aimed to offer an affordable (comparatively speaking) way into GT4-spec racing, the GT4 retains some key elements of the road-going M4 such as its 3.0L twin-turbo inline-six and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Beyond that, the road car resemblance ends. A stripped-out cabin culls weight, with bare carbonfibre panels, roll cage scaffolding and even a bare metal floor trading luxe for speed. Don’t think your significant other would enjoy that? That’s okay, there’s no passenger seat for them anyway.

Outside, the exterior is even further removed from the standard production model. Monster AP Racing brakes are borrowed from the M6 GT3 racer as are the seats and pedal box, Hankook slicks grip the track, carbon canards, carbon fibre doors, a fixed front splitter (as opposed to the adjustable splitter on the M4 GTS), towering rear wing and a blaring racing exhaust system set the M4 GT4 apart from its road-going relative.

The biggest development, however, is the engine control software. With the M4 GT4, BMW’s release emphasises the use of “power sticks”, interchangeable pre-loaded flash tunes with different levels of engine performance and output.

Its competition debut isn’t far away either. BMW has entered the car in the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race, driven by a team of factory BMW race drivers, testers and engineers.

Want one? Orders will need to be lodged with BMW Motorsport directly in Munich. BMW’s Motorsport division is already heavily involved in local GT3 events, and given the growth of the GT4 category in Australia, BMW’s local office says it would love to see the car competing once available. Price is listed at €169,000 - that’s a touch over $250,000 in down-under dollars.