The iconic Need for Speed video game series is turning 30 next month, and BMW has given fans a special present by recreating arguably the most recognisable car from its three-decade run.

On the cover of the 2005 installment Need for Speed: Most Wanted was a blue and silver BMW M3 GTR, which can be driven in one of the game’s opening challenges before (spoiler alert) it’s lost in a street race, with the plot of the story to get it back.

In this game of street racing, ‘Blacklists’ and police pursuits, it’s the BMW M3 GTR which stood tall due to its status as the one car players are trying to obtain once more. 

While being able to own the car in-game is a difficult proposition, doing so in the real world is even more so.

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A post shared by Mark Riccioni (@mark_scenemedia)

Click the Instagram link above for a full gallery of images of the car.

The M3 GTR was exclusively made for endurance racing, and fewer than 10 examples of the Straßenversion (Street Version) required for homologation still exist.

However, BMW – with persuasion from Need for Speed and Speedhunters photographer Mark Riccioni – has paid tribute to the Most Wanted hero car by applying a vinyl wrap to one of the few former M3 GTR race cars.

This particular example was raced by Jörg Müller and J.J. Lehto in the 2001 American Le Mans Series, where it was campaigned by BMW in the GT category as the #42 car.

It ended up winning the driver’s title in the hands of Müller and the team standings for BMW, making it an important example in itself. It’s reported a different chassis later went on to win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring endurance race in 2004 and 2005.

While the original livery still exists, it’s under a layer of wrap which features the same scheme as featured in Need for Speed: Most Wanted, at least prior to the car dumping engine oil (you’ll know if you’ve played the game).

What’s more, it’s now on display at the BMW Welt museum in Munich, allowing those who’ve driven the car countless times in game to finally see its real likeness.

It also represents a rarity in that hundreds of replicas have been made from the E46 BMW 3 Series, though none feature the M3 GTR’s bespoke ‘P60B40’ V8 engine, displacing 4.0-litres and capable of producing approximately 500kW without restrictions.

Racing versions featured a six-speed sequential transmission, while the Straßenversion had a more traditional H-pattern six-speed manual gearbox.

To coincide with the restickered M3 GTR’s unveiling and Need for Speed’s 30th birthday, the latest game in the series (Unbound) has received an update which adds the iconic BMW to it.

Rather than simply be finished in blue and silver, it’s also available in a livery which incorporates elements from other Need for Speed cover cars, such as the Underground Skyline GT-R and Underground 2 350Z.

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