GLTC Build Thread #1 - Introducing the Gutted Pumpkin

The Gridlife Touring Cup (more commonly known as GLTC) is a nationwide sprint racing series which showcases many different automotive brands and builds all based on a power to weight formula. All of its participants are held to a strict 12.5 lbs per Horsepower standard, where overall car weight is also leveraged for other modifications including aerodynamics and drivetrain upgrades.The Condor Speed Shop crew began participating in GLTC earlier this year with our Spec E9X 330i. Though the car in Spec E9X trim was reasonably competitive, we soon realized that aero and other modifications outside of the Spec E9X rule set would be crucial to help move the car up the grid. Therefore, we then opted to create a GLTC specific aero package which could be bolted on and off in order to keep the car eligible for both GLTC and Spec E9X competition. This involved the utilization of a removable front splitter and a rear wing courtesy of Nine Lives Racing which was bolted onto a spare trunk lid in order to expedite race prep.These modifications served the car well, but as it is with most things in racing, the constant desire for more optimization led us down a path where we thought it would be most beneficial to build a GLTC specific car from the ground up. And that is where our orange colored project comes into the picture. This 2007 E92 BMW 335i was found in North Carolina as a fully caged and fully gutted rolling chassis. We purchased the car from 3DM Motorsport, where it was in the process of being built for intense time attack competition. The car has an M3 rear subframe swapped in and showed up with numerous other M3 specific parts, as well as a 335i 6-speed manual transmission. It cannot be overstated how many weight-saving measures have already been performed, as it is currently sporting a fiberglass roof and fully gutted dash. All of the wiring is currently removed and the car is ready for race parts and race parts only. Serving as a form of comic relief, the car showed up at our shop on 20-inch bright orange donk-esque wheels being used as rollers.

We now have a blank canvas ready to be developed into a bespoke GLTC competitor and we are excited to share our progress throughout this build blog series. Our goal is to have the car ready for the start of the 2024 Gridlife season. Carlos Mendez will pilot the e92 alongside longtime friend and Condor customer Thomas Lathrop from Rising Edge in his ex-Bimmerworld/Continental Sports Challenge ST E90. 

We have some different ideas we are considering for power plants, drivetrain modifications and more and we will be posting updates as we progress throughout the coming months. What do you think would help make the E92 most competitive within the GLTC series? Should we leave it orange? Which engine/drivetrain would you love to see us run? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for more updates as we get started on this journey.