The 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps brought together three drivers whose primary season was contested in BMW's LMDh Hypercar programme — Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann — under the same Team WRT roof in a GT3 car for the first time that year. Minichamps has documented that uncommon line-up in a 1:18 scale model die-cast in metal, wearing the #31's predominantly black BMW M Motorsport livery.
The BMW M4 GT3 EVO: evolution at race pace
Introduced for the 2025 season as a refined update of the G82-based BMW M4 GT3 that had raced since 2022, the EVO specification targets every kilogram and aerodynamic compromise its predecessor carried. A lighter cathodic dip coating replaces conventional paint on the bodywork, the rear wing gains a wider adjustment range, front wheel arch air outlets are enlarged, and larger rear brake discs — 380 mm with 4-piston calipers — replace the earlier units. Up front, 390 mm rotors and 6-piston calipers remain. Power comes from the P58, a 2,993 cm³ straight-six derived from the road-going S58 but fitted with a dry-sump oiling system, revised mounting angle and dual throttle valves, producing up to 590 hp through an X-Trac 6-speed sequential gearbox. Customer list price: 578,000 euros net.
Spa 2025: a historic BMW entry and a difficult night for #31
BMW fielded 11 M4 GT3 EVO cars at the 2025 Spa 24 Hours — the largest GT3 fleet BMW had ever brought to the event — with five in the Pro class, three of them entered by Team WRT (#31, #32, #46) as part of BMW's bid for the Coupe du Roi, the centenary manufacturer trophy. Qualifying gave the #31 crew early reason for confidence: Dries Vanthoor set a time quick enough for third on the Superpole grid, only for a 1.012-second procedural penalty — the car had moved 1.002 seconds too early at the start of the session — to drop the entry to 14th overall on the grid. The race itself brought further adversity: a torn-off diffuser required an unscheduled repair stop that cost the crew a lap they were unable to recover across the remaining hours. The #31 was classified P8 overall at 24:01:03.648, 548 laps completed on Spa's 7,004-metre circuit, one lap down on the class leader.
The Minichamps 1:18 die-cast
Minichamps produced this model as part of their 2025 GT3 race car series in 1:18 scale, using die-cast metal construction. The piece reproduces the BMW M4 GT3 EVO bodywork in the #31's black Team WRT / BMW M Motorsport livery, with driver names — van der Linde, Vanthoor, Wittmann — and race number graphics consistent with the Spa 2025 specification. A companion release covering the same #31 car at Le Mans 2025 (with a different driver crew) confirms that Minichamps' 2025 GT3 programme in 1:18 extends across multiple rounds, giving context to the set-building potential of this release.
In the display cabinet
At 1:18, the BMW M4 GT3 EVO measures 28.0 cm in length — derived from the car's official length of 5,020 mm including splitter and rear wing. That footprint demands a shelf depth of at least 12 cm and ideally 30 cm of lateral clearance. The natural companions are the Minichamps 1:18 sister cars from the same Spa 2025 entry: the #32 (de Wilde / Weerts / Kelvin van der Linde) and the #46 (Magnussen / Rast / Rossi), both of which complete Team WRT's Pro-class trio and the Coupe du Roi manufacturer effort. Collectors building a cross-discipline BMW M Motorsport shelf will also find the Nürburgring 24 Hours 2025 winner (#98, ROWE Racing) a logical pairing, given that race took place just one week before Spa.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the 1:18 scale model?
The real BMW M4 GT3 EVO measures 5,020 mm in length including the front splitter and rear wing. Divided by 18, the Minichamps model comes out at approximately 28.0 cm. Allow at least 30 cm of shelf width and 12 cm of depth to display it comfortably.
Does the model have opening parts?
The opening-parts specification for this particular Minichamps release has not been confirmed in available sources. Detail on die-cast Minichamps GT3 models in this scale is typically concentrated on the exterior surfaces — bodywork panels, aerodynamic appendages, livery graphics and wheel detail — rather than interior or underbonnet access.
Why is the #31 driver line-up considered particularly significant?
Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann were all BMW M Motorsport factory drivers whose primary 2025 programme was the FIA WEC LMDh Hypercar class. The Spa 24 Hours was a rare occasion when all three shared a GT3 car together, making the #31 entry a crossover piece for both GT3 and Hypercar collectors. Van der Linde and Vanthoor had also shared a podium at the 2024 Spa 24 Hours, adding further personal history to the pairing.
What is the BMW M4 GT3 EVO and how does it differ from the standard M4 GT3?
The EVO is an evolutionary update of the G82-based BMW M4 GT3 introduced for the 2025 season. Key changes include a lighter cathodic dip coating on the body, revised rear wing with a wider adjustment range, enlarged front wheel arch air outlets, new anti-roll bars and larger rear brake discs. The P58 straight-six engine — 2,993 cm³, up to 590 hp — and X-Trac 6-speed sequential gearbox carry over from the base car.
