1995 BMW E36 M3

PTG American Le Mans Series — ex-Super Touring

CHASSIS#: E36 STC 95/039

ENGINE 3.2-liter S50B30 inline six-cylinder

OUTPUT 422 hp @ 7938 rpm, 296 lb-ft @ 6192 rpm

TRANSMISSION 6-speed Hewland manual

CURB WEIGHT 2750 lbs 

BUILD DATE  1995

COLOR  White

OWNER  Greg Galdi

OWNED SINCE  2008

LOCATION  Lloyd Harbor, New York

This four-door E36 M3 left BMW Motorsport in the early 1990s as little more than an empty tub. Shortly after, it was shipped to Italy, to longtime factory partner Team Bigazzi, where it was built into a four-cylinder, S42-powered, 318iS Super Touring race car.

From 1995 to 1997, STC 95/039 was raced around the world, primarily in the hands of Italian BMW factory driver Roberto Ravaglia. And then, for 1998, it was sold to a race shop in Northern Virginia, to a man named Tom Milner.

From 1995 to 2006, BMW of North America contracted its sports-car racing duties to Milner’s Prototype Technology Group, a.k.a. PTG. The arrangement produced championships, wins at Daytona and Sebring, and, in its first five years, a small fleet of E36 M3 race cars.

Only three of those PTG M3s wore four doors, and this is the last one built. Converted to an M3 in the summer of 1998, it ran just one full season with PTG, in 1999, in the American Le Mans Series, alternating between car numbers 6 and 7. Drivers that year included BMW legend Dieter Quester, NASCAR driver Ernie Irvan, Honda stalwart Peter Cunningham, and the one and only Boris Said.

“Bill Auberlen drove it later,” Greg Galdi says. “You bring these cars out, and magically Boris shows up, or Bill, and they’re so excited to see it. They love getting back in these things, giving rides, because they just feel great, they’re transparent, and they come to you.”

Galdi owns multiple PTG-built race cars, including an American Le Mans Series E46 M3; the common thread, he says, is that they’re all easy to drive quickly.

“They’re just very reliable, they feel very solid, very planted.” And, he adds, huge fun. Including the odd passenger ride he gets to strap in for when a car like 039 is reunited with one of its former drivers, like Auberlen.

“When a pro gets in, he has nothing to prove to you. So he’s well below limits, but… it’s certainly a memorable experience. You feel like you’re about to leave the earth.”