Of all the cars at ULTRACE 2025 in Wrocław, this was the one we kept walking back to. It looks like an E36 M3 that went to the gym. But under that blue-and-white bodywork is a Judd V8, a racing engine from the prototype-racing world that screams well past any rev limit BMW ever put on an M3.
The car and the man behind it
This E36 belongs to one of the great stories of European hillclimbing. German driver Georg Plasa campaigned it for most of his career and turned it into one of the most recognisable machines on the European mountain circuit. Plasa later moved on to a newer BMW 1 Series-based car. After his death, Klaus Wohlfarth, founder of suspension maker KW automotive, bought the M3 from the Plasa family.
In the autumn of 2017, KW staff, Plasa's friends and his former teammates rebuilt it together. The next summer it went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Plasa's friend Jörg Weidinger drove it up the hill to the third-fastest time overall. A 20-year-old touring-car shape beat purpose-built modern machinery.
The Judd V8
The heart of the car is a Judd KV675, a 3.4-litre V8 from John Judd's engine company, better known for powering sports prototypes at Le Mans. It's light, compact and built to rev, so it suits a short-wheelbase car that has to fire out of hairpins. You don't so much hear it as feel it in your chest. The KW, Vossner, Kathan and Judd decals on the bodywork tell the story of the people who keep it alive.
The details
Look closer and the engineering shows everywhere. The front wheel arches are massively flared over BBS race wheels on Avon rubber. A long, flat diffuser exits under the rear bumper, and the swan-neck rear wing stands almost as tall as the roof. The whole car sits just millimetres off the tarmac. The "Arrivederci" script down the doors is a fitting send-off line for anyone it passes.
Why it matters
The E36 M3 is usually remembered as an approachable 90s performance coupé. This car shows how far the platform can go when the rulebook is open, and how much a community can do to keep a late driver's legacy running. If you're at a European show and hear a high-pitched V8 from the far end of the paddock, follow it. We saw it at ULTRACE 2025.
Photos: One Breath Pictures
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