Sunday, July 8, 2012

BMW M3 Lime Rock Park Edition for 2013!

Thanks to Lance Johnson, BMWCCA CT Valley Chapter President, for posting this in Facebook today. Cool. Lime Rock Park is located right here in CT, in the NW corner of the state. It is a beautiful spot, not to mention a great and historical race venue.

Limited Edition 2013 BMW M3 Lime Rock Park Edition in Fire Orange

by Tim Jones on July 6, 2012, 3:00 pm

BMW of North America announces another limited edition M3. This summer BMW will produce 200 2013 M3 Lime Rock Park Edition Coupes, 25 cars per week for 8 weeks. The production starts in August with deliverers staring in September. Pricing will start at $70,100 plus $895 for destination and handling. The limited edition M3s are going to go fast so call your local dealership to reserve one now. Each dealer will only get one allocation so you may have to call around to several dealers to get one.

The Lime Rock Park Edition M3 is described by Skip Barber as "a classic car for a classic track". The historic Lime Rock Park racing circuit is located in northwestern Connecticut and is considered BMW's home track. BMW and Lime Rock Park collaborated on the M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition to celebrate the longstanding relationship between BMW automobiles, the famed Lime Rock Park racing circuit, and the thousands of passionate drivers and fans.

The BMW M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition will be constructed on the foundation of the iconic BMW M3 Coupe, now in its fourth generation, with enhancements selected through collaboration with Skip Barber and Lime Rock Park. Each car will be painted in rare Fire Orange and features Anthracite and Black cloth seating with Nappa leather trim. The popular Competition Package is fitted, and the M3's signature carbon fiber composite roof panel will be retained on all copies produced. Also in the standard equipment profile will be a lightweight inconel-titanium exhaust muffler, carbon fiber front and rear aerodynamic aids, and an Anthracite Alcantara-covered, flat-bottom steering wheel. Finally, each M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition will be quickly identified by a numbered plaque located on the center console, a unique decal on the left-rear quarter window, and a certificate of authenticity.

2013 fire orange lime rock park BMW M3

California-based racing driver Bill Auberlen, whose career has been synonymous with the BMW brand in America for 17 years and includes over 300 professional races in BMW cars, joined Skip Barber and Lime Rock Park management on July 3rd, 2012 to evaluate the prototype of the M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition on the famed 1.5-mile circuit. Just a few days before starting his 100th American Le Mans Series race at Lime Rock Park, Auberlen remarked, "A race car is never allowed to be perfect. It's the job of the driver to constantly suggest improvements and find more speed. But the M3 Lime Rock Park Edition may be as close to perfect as you can get, right off the production line. From its great color to the flawless manners it showed on the track, for the first time I can say I might not change a thing."

The balanced, linear driving dynamics of the BMW M3 Coupe are often described as a perfect match for the challenging Lime Rock Park circuit. As described by track owner Skip Barber:

"A newcomer looks at the track map and thinks, 'Oh, this is easy.' It's not. Lime Rock is an extremely difficult track to drive quickly. It has three of what many drivers think are some of the most challenging corners in North America: The Uphill, West Bend and The Downhill," Barber said. "There are tricky cambers, extreme elevation changes, very high speeds... all Lime Rock signatures since it opened 55 years ago. And the BMW M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition, when equipped with the six-speed manual, is geared perfectly – and I mean perfectly – for the track. I agree with Bill: I wouldn't change a thing."

2013 Lime Rock Edition M3 Base Equipment