Coming across the intro image will make most people, ourselves included, scratch their heads. Why is this G80 BMW M3 burning on what appears to be a field? Alas, this is no trick, with the vehicle having burned to a crisp over in Texas a few weeks ago.
Before we move any further, allow us to state that the driver, who was reportedly enjoying some track time in the performance sedan before disaster struck, walked away from the accident, as he confirmed on social media.
A short clip and some images of the accident were uploaded to Instagram and TikTok less than 24 hours before this article was published. However, the man, who is known as eand.3 on social networks and has listed his location in Texas, didn’t provide any details on how his 2022 BMW M3 Competition xDrive ended up being consumed by the flames.
For one, here’s what his TikTok post reads: “the end of the chapter, thank you all for the support and kind messages. It’s been a few rough few weeks, but life goes on. Extremely thankful to have been able to walk away,“
This wasn’t a mechanical fault
The burning M3, which used to sport a spectacular shade called Isle of Man Green, was caught on camera while at the Harris Hill Raceway. This is a Texan circuit the driver had tackled in his Bimmer before, as showcased on the enthusiast’s Instagram. In fact, you can see some of the buildings of the facility in the background of the images showing the car on fire (check out the collage we inserted in the image gallery).
And as explained by Redditor fakesocialmedia, who claims to be a friend of the owner, this happened during a track day event. The M3 exited a corner wide and when the rear wheels ended up on the grass, the driver lost control and went further away from the asphalt. And it seems that the hot exhaust of the car set the dry grass on the side of the track on fire.
You can find examples of such incidents all over the internet, but one would naturally wonder why the machine wasn’t driven away from the burning grass. Well, it appears that the off-track stint, which sent the BMW down a hill, broke one of the wheels and potentially damaged some suspension components. Basically, the said source claims that the vehicle couldn’t move under its own power, with everybody that had gathered around it watching the machine being engulfed by the flames.
In addition, Redditor invaliduser13 states that the story happened at the said location “a few weeks ago”, confirming the fact that the G80 M3 went off the track and set the dry grass on fire.
Of course, there are questions here that remain unanswered. For one, there are fire extinguishers in some of the pictures and the panels of the car appear to be wet, probably indications of unsuccessful attempts at putting out the fire.
Regardless, the vehicle was completely destroyed by the flames—with the carbon roof now gone, we can see the steel structure of the roof.
Most comments on Instagram and TikTok have been warm, with people expressing support not just for the owner surviving the accident, but also for an enthusiast having lost such a mechanical gem. As for the unkind comments, many of these seem to be directed towards the polarizing design of the G80 M3 kidney grille—we wonder what the latter camp thinks of this 2022 SEMA-showcased 1930 Ford Model A hot rod, which sports a somewhat similar grille to go with its BMW V12.
The enthusiast, whose car collection also includes M3s from other generations, had been with his G80 for under a year, as you’ll notice in the second Instagram post below.
@eand.3 the end of the chapter, thank you all for the support and kind messages. It’s been a few rough few weeks, but life goes on. Extremely thankful to have been able to walk away. #fyp #foryou #bmw #carsoftiktok #car #m3 #g80 #viral #xyzbca #sad ♬ Present – Lloyd Vaan