Spied: 2012 BMW M3 GTS

BMW added the orangalicious, bewinged, and stripped-out GTS to the M3 coupe lineup last summer; the next model in the special-edition pecking order, apparently, is the M3 sedan.

Such a model was previewed by the Lightweight M3 Sedan Concept shown this past April, and now the company is putting the production version through its paces at the Nürburgring. Heck, the car seen here may actually be the “concept,” as it looks identical—right down to the black wheels—excepting windows you can actually see through and the missing chin spoiler.

This special M3 won’t be an exact, tit-for-tat partner for the GTS. BMW says that, in the interest of streetability, the GTS sedan will instead occupy the wafer-thin real estate between that hard-core variant and the stock car. It’s thus unlikely to make as much power as the 444-horse GTS (or get that car’s bored-out 4.4-liter), instead utilizing a slightly brawnier version of the regular 4.0-liter S65 V-8, which is good for 414 hp in basic tune.

It also clearly won’t get the GTS’s huge, junge-racer spoiler, and the navy paint is several steps less garish than the two-door’s tangerine stuff. It will, however, follow the GTS’s lead in reducing curb weight, although the exact method is unknown at this point. Figure on expanded use of carbon fiber, as well as a few key equipment deletions.

Full details on the car—including the final name, which could incorporate GTS or even resurrect the old Evolution addendum—will emerge from the M division’s big party at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in June. Don’t rush to your local dealer to drop a deposit, though, as this one’s probably joining the GTS as a limited-production European exclusive.