With its 3.0-liter, twin-turbo straight-six engine pumping out 405 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque and M performance parts including a tuned exhaust, sport brakes, and an active differential on the rear axle, the BMW M2 Competition is a highly capable track car. But it's about to get even more hardcore.

BMW has announced it's developing a new entry-level race car designed "for grassroots motorsport and clubracing" based on the BMW M2 Competition. Details are scarce for now, but we'll get to see the car in action this weekend when it makes its racing debut on August 3rd at the Nordschleife during the VLN Endurance Championship. Putting the M2 Competition race car through its paces will be BMW Motorsport's Junior Beitske Visser and Jorg Weidinger, test and development engineer at BMW M GmbH and a successful BMW Sports Trophy competitor for many years.

During the six-hour race, the car will be run by BMW Motorsport and will sport a special camouflage livery. The lengthy race will enable BMW to test the car in extreme conditions on the most demanding racetrack in the world before customers get behind the wheel next season. The upcoming race on the Nordschleife is the next step of BMW's intense testing program for the M2 Competition racer following successful tests at Miramas and Portimao during the recent weeks and months.

According to BMW, there will be a Racing and a Clubsport variant of the new entry-level race car, which the automaker believes will appeal to more potential amateur racing drivers than its predecessor, the BMW M240i Racing. A Permit B version of the car is also planned for use on the Nordschleife within the VLN.

BMW says the main focus of the car's development was on "simple handling for everyone." No technical details have been released yet, but the new race car is likely to use a tuned version of the standard M2 Competition's 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six engine, which could see its power output increased to 470 horsepower. We're also expecting it to be fitted with track-optimized engine software, racing seats, bigger brakes, front and rear spoilers, an aggressive rear diffuser, and a rear wing to enhance the aerodynamics.