The success story of BMW M racing cars.

Motor racing has been anchored in the DNA of BMW M ever since. Regardless of which series or period you look at, a BMW M has always meant pure dynamics, power and victories. In the meantime, many icons of motorsport have been created. The Formula 1 performance king is the BMW BT52 racing car, in which Nelson Piquet became world champion in 1983. But the Brabham with BMW Power is just one of many examples of the most successful racing car in all classes.

Thus, icons like the V12 LMR, the 3.0 CSL, the M3 E30, the M3 E46 GTR and many others set new standards at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the internationally contested touring car championships.

The philosophy of M GmbH plays a large part in the company’s motorsport success. Former board member Robert A. Lutz described it most appositely in the year the BMW subsidiary was founded:

Five decades later, nothing has changed. The company, now known as BMW M GmbH, is more than ever a byword for its ideals – and can look back on an impressive history full of enthusiasm, passion and success.

To achieve the status of motorsports legend, titles, prizes and successes alone are not enough. What you need to remain in people’s memories for ever is above all the passion and the enthusiasm of the developers, drivers and last but not least the spectators. A short journey back in time shows the moments when these BMW M models became legends of motor racing history.

Scarcely a BMW caused more of a stir when it first rolled out of the assembly hall than the BMW M1. With the M1, BMW had one of the most exclusive sports cars on and off the racetrack. And the M1 convinced most of all with its power. With its top speed of 264.7 km/h, the M1 was holder of the record for fastest production sports car in Germany for eight long years – nowadays, such a long period would be unthinkable.

On the 24th April 1980, BMW announced they were entering formula sport. Paul Rosche constructed the first F1 engine for the Bavarians, a four-cylinder inline engine block with 1.5 litres capacity. With special fuel and an exhaust-driven turbo-charger, the engine first had an output of 630 hp and in later years up to 1,400 hp. On 23rd January 1982, Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese opened the season in Kyalami in the Brabham BMW’s first outing. The first Formula 1 points were captured by the BMW-engined Brabham shortly afterwards: On 9th May 1982, Nelson Piquet finished fifth in the GP of Belgium. The Brazilian clinched the first victory on 13th June in Montreal.

For the world championship 1983, the BMW turbo engine was further optimized. With success: Nelson Piquet won the opening race in São Paulo. The quality of the engine had got about and thus for the first time a third BMW Turbo customer was on the grid: Manfred Winkelhock in the ATS BMW.

From BMW’s point of view, the fight for the first world championship couldn’t have been more exciting. From the first victory, it took twelve races for Piquet to win again. From then on, he drove consistently and collected points. And in Monza and Brands Hatch, Nelson Piquet and his Brabham BMW crossed the line first.

At the season finale in Kyalami, third place was enough for the championship. After only 630 days in Formula 1 for BMW Motorsport GmbH, Nelson Piquet was world champion – and the BMW turbo engine was the engine to beat in future.

The first BMW M3 (E30) is an absolute collector’s item and not only from an historical point of view a real milestone for BMW M. With a total of more than 1,400 race wins and numerous championship titles in almost every conceivable series right up to the world championship, the BMW M3 E30 is still the most successful touring car in the world today.

The M3 was a born winner. As in the motto “From zero to hero”, the E30 managed several championship wins in its first year, with Eric van de Poele, driver of the serial winner M3, taking the DTM title at his first attempt.

The Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the hardest tests for both driver and material. To win this competition was for BMW M not only a challenge, but also a vision, one that became reality in 1999. The completely newly developed BMW V12 LMR (Le Mans Roadster) prototype with its powerful V12 engine and an curb weight of just 915 kg was a futuristic vehicle of the highest class.

The six-litre engine was more durable and robust than the competition. The engine’s enormous durability was thanks to the benchmark set during development. The standard expected of the developers was to survive a race twice as long as Le Mans.

BMW announced its re-entry into Formula 1 at the IAA in September 1997. This news caused great joy among motorsport enthusiasts and the first test drives began again at Miramas on 27. April. At the unveiling of the FW22 racing car at the Circuit de Catalunya in January 2000, Williams’ chief designer Gavin Fisher declared the collaboration with BMW to be the beginning of a "new era" and expressed his confidence in the car as it represented "a significant step forward."

In fact, the 2000 premiere season began with a bang. Ralf Schumacher's third place at the opening race in Melbourne, Australia, meant that this was the most successful premiere of an engine manufacturer since 1967. The rest of the season also marked a successful re-entry into the top class of motorsport for BMW with Team BMW Williams finishing third in the constructors' championship on their first attempt.

Sometimes everything just comes together as it should. This was the case with the development and construction of the BMW M3 GTR at the beginning of the new millennium. The goal was to put the competitors in the potent American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in their place. This was achieved thanks in part to the 460 hp of the all-aluminium naturally aspirated V8 engine with four overhead camshafts, chain drive and mechanical bucket tappets. This superior engine catapulted the racing car into a league of its own. The M3 GTR won seven out of ten races in the ALMS GT class in its debut season.

So, the decision to go for a compact V-engine paid off. It made use of an improved cooling concept, which brought thermal and aerodynamic advantages. The unmistakable rear wheel arches and the huge rear wing played their part in the success too- and also contributed to the memories of the most extreme M3.

It was almost as if the 20-year break had never happened. After the end of BMW Motorsport's involvement in Formula 1 in 2009, the decision was made to enter an M3 in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) again from 2012. Before that, he last time an M3 E30 from a BMW works team competed in the DTM was in 1992. Based on the then current E92 model, the engineers once again created a vehicle that couldn’t help but win.

Unlike its predecessor in the DTM, the new M3 was developed exclusively for use in this racing series. Air restrictors capped the maximum output of the naturally aspirated V8 with four litres of displacement at 480 hp. The framework for the overall construction was provided by the CFRP monocoque chassis in line with the regulations. In the end, acceleration from zero to 100 km/h was possible in about three seconds.

The BMW M4 DTM had big shoes to fill. But the engineers at BMW Motorsport immediately hit the bull's eye with its successor. Visually, the bodywork was based on the BMW M4, which had just been presented at the time, while the familiar naturally aspirated V8 engine with 480 hp was used again and was perfectly tuned to the chassis and aerodynamics in time for the 2014 season.

One size bigger, the BMW M replaced the BMW Z4 GT3 with the GT3 version of the M6 F13 for the 2016 season. From 2010, until its replacement, this was the first choice for various private racing teams worldwide and initially produced 480 and later up to 535 hp. Its greatest success came in 2015 when it won the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps.

Nevertheless, with its relatively short wheelbase of 2,509 millimetres, the Z4 GT3 was always more challenging to handle than its competitors. BMW Motorsport ultimately decided to rely on the BMW F13 from now on. This was “perfect for the development of the new GT sports car for customer sport”, explained BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt at his presentation at the IAA 2015. The almost five-metre-long racing car was to be used in various series in accordance with the FIA GT3 classification.

The turbocharged V8 engine and the long wheelbase were the basis for optimal handling, which gave the series vehicle a sporty look. Nevertheless, the modifications compared to the series models were plentiful, especially the radical change from over 1,900kg to under 1,300 kg, the driver's seat shifted to the centre, the transaxle transmission and a power increase of the series engine to 585 hp.

BMW means motorsport – from the very start. Way back in 1929, the first 3/15 DA 2 left the factory in Eisenach and turned out to be the ideal basis for a sports car. In the same year, the BMW 3/15 DA 2 made history by taking part in its first official competition.

The endurance race in which BMW came to the world’s attention for the first time would still be an enormous challenge by today’s standards. The famous Austrian Alpine Rally lasted five days and covered 2,650 km over countless mountain passes. The first BMW in the Austrian Alpine Rally in 1929 was piloted by Max Buchner, Albert Kandt and Wilhelm Wagner.

At the time, both team and vehicle were completely unknown, yet they managed to achieve a sensation: A maiden start became a maiden victory. With an average speed of 42 km/h, fastest times in all stages and being the only team to avoid penalty points, BMW shocked the entire automotive world. The car publication Deutsche Automobilzeitung reported: “At one stroke, the new BMW presented itself to the whole world.”