CUPRA, Supra and A Pair of BMW M4 EVOs Make Up IMSA’s New Model Year
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Every new racing season brings a few new racing cars, and 2025 is no exception for IMSA-sanctioned sports car racing. There’s a quartet of new or updated ‘Evolution’ machines to look forward to seeing in competition for the first time, including two versions of an established fan favorite and an IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge contender than has not yet been seen in America on the street or the racetrack.
Invigorated Champion: BMW M4
Back in 1986, BMW had no idea it would make such a significant impact on the automotive world when it commissioned its ‘M’ Motorsport division to concurrently develop a Touring Car class racing car and a limited-production street version to go along with it.
The resultant M3 (renamed M4 in 2014 when BMW modified its nomenclature system) has had a wildly successful competition career through six design generations. Additionally, its roadgoing model has consistently blurred the boundaries between practical sedan and outright sports car, combining the best of both worlds.
BMW M now produces FIA GT3- and GT4-homologated versions of the G82 generation of the M4 that debuted for the 2022 racing season. In 2025, the German marque is introducing an ‘EVO’ package of updates.
For the M4 GT3 EVO that competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, visual changes include revised front fender vents, smaller rear-view mirrors, and greater adjustability for the rear wing.
Headlights and taillights have been upgraded to BMW’s latest ‘Life Cycle Impulse’ design language. To save weight, some parts of the body are left in bare carbon fiber, while others are treated with a cathodic dip coating instead of traditional paint. Under the bodywork, you’ll find new suspension components, larger rear brakes, and fine-tuning of the differential. The upgrades are available as a package, or new cars can be obtained for €578,000 (just under $600,000).
The M4 GT3 EVO premiered in May 2024 at the Nürburgring and will make its worldwide competition debut in the 2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona International Speedway, with a pair of entries in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class fielded by Paul Miller Racing and a third in GTD, run by stalwart BMW team Turner Motorsport. Before stepping up to IMSA’s GTD PRO last year, PMR’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 claimed the 2023 GTD class championship and the 2022 GTD WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
“The BMW M4 GT3 has achieved more than 70 victories and countless major successes since its introduction,” stated Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “I am convinced that the EVO model of the BMW M4 GT3, as well as that of the BMW M4 GT4, will contribute to playing in the first league of GT racing in the coming years and celebrating many more great victories.”
Four weeks after BMW unveiled the M4 GT3 EVO, it rolled out an EVO version of the M4 GT4 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – another legendary European venue. As with the GT3, BMW targeted increased efficiency and reliability with the EVO upgrades, which include a new splitter and the same LCI-inspired lighting as the M4 GT3. But for GT4, ease of drivability was an even more important factor for Bronze-rated drivers like many who compete in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The ability to deactivate traction control is a key change. The update kit can be acquired for €16,000 (just over $16,000), with new cars priced at €219,000 (just over $225,000).
“In developing the BMW M4 GT4 EVO, we focused on what makes BMW M Motorsport stand out,” said Bjorn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport. “We took the feedback from the field seriously and focused on the issues that were important to our customers – to make the ‘perfect’ customer racing car even better.”
Turner Motorsport leads the BMW attack in the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
CUPRA: Spanish Flair
Most Americans aren’t aware of CUPRA, or for that matter of SEAT, the Spanish auto brand that spawned it. SEAT was created in 1950 and acquired in 1986 by the Volkswagen Group, currently the world’s second largest auto manufacturer.
CUPRA Racing was created as SEAT’s motorsport division, ultimately resulting in a line of high-performance ‘CUPRA’ versions of several SEAT models that is now a full-fledged marque.
Think of CUPRA to SEAT like you would AMG to Mercedes, M to BMW, or N to Hyundai; it was spun-off as a standalone brand in 2018 on the basis of SEAT’s successful racing exploits, which include World Touring Car Championship titles in 2008 and ’09 with drivers Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini.
The SEAT Leon is a compact hatchback that shares the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform with the VW Golf/GTI and the Audi A3. In GT4 specification, the A3 is a successful racing car. Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor drove the Touring Car (TCR) specification Audi RS3 LMS TCR to the 2024 TCR class championship in Michelin Pilot Challenge. So, it’s not too difficult to follow the stock SEAT Leon’s transformation into the CUPRA Leon VZ TCR that will join the TCR class of the IMPC field in 2025. CUPRA was announced at Motul Petit Le Mans weekend to become the latest auto manufacturer to participate in IMSA competition.
CUPRA has announced plans to enter the U.S. market by 2030, and the brand is using its IMSA program with Gou Racing to preview its arrival. The father-son duo of Eduardo and Eddie Gou made their Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR debut in late 2023 and fielded the distinctive orange No. 55 Audi in 2024.
“The CUPRA Leon VZ is a fantastic machine, and we are confident in our ability to push it to its limits in the 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge,” said team principal Eduardo Gou. “We look forward to the fierce competition, new challenges, and, most importantly, making our mark in one of the most exciting touring car classes out there. This represents an exciting new era for our team.”
Supra EVO2: Twice as Nice
The Toyota Supra has evolved since the 1970s from a sporty and luxurious version of the Celica to a larger more capable grand tourer that became iconic in its racing version through the ‘Gran Turismo’ gaming platform. These days, the Supra is a small, two-seat sports car that shares a platform and engine with the BMW Z4 convertible.
Toyota Gazoo Racing brought out an FIA-homologated GR Supra GT4 in 2020, followed by an EVO version in 2023. Now just two years later comes the GR Supra GT4 EVO2, with a recalibrated gearbox for faster downshifts and more effective rev-matching to benefit braking stability. Considerable effort has also gone into cooling the car’s major mechanical components, as well as the confined cockpit area.
More than 120 Supra GT4s have been raced around the world since 2020, including in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the GSX class in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The 2025 GR Supra GT4 EVO2 carries a price tag of €202,000 (just under $208,000).
(Photos courtesy BMW M Motorsport, CUPRA and Toyota GR Racing)