BMW Motorsport launches BMW 120d for customer racing

Munich (GER), 28th December 2005. BMW Motorsport is extending the range
of models available for customer sport with its latest offer of a race
version of the BMW 120d. The racing kit is expected to cost 95,000
euros when it goes on sale in March 2006 and is available from BMW
Racing Parts. The 245 bhp racing model was developed by BMW Motorsport
and is suited to both rally racing and endurance events across the
globe. Like its production counterpart, the turbocharged four-cylinder
inline diesel engine driving the 120d race version is also coming from
BMW Motoren GmbH Steyr in Austria. BMW is thus perpetuating its
customer racing tradition in the year 2006. After the BMW 320i E46 took
both the Manufacturers' and the Drivers' title in the 2005 World
Touring Car Championship, next year will see numerous private teams
lining up alongside the BMW national teams to contest the FIA WTCC with
its successor model, the BMW 320si. To date, 114 kits of the E46 series
forerunner have been sold around the world by BMW Racing Parts. In
extending its product range with the new BMW 120d, BMW is driving
forward its successful concept of offering 200-plus customer teams
around the globe a wide range of opportunities to gather racing
experience and successes. In addition to the recently unveiled version
- with its flared wings modelled on the 320si built for the WTCC - the
120d will also be available with slightly modified bodywork to meet the
FIA regulations for Group N. The BMW 120d marks its racing debut on
12th/13th January at the Dubai 24-Hour Race, where Team Schubert Motors
will be fielding the car privately to test its endurance under race
conditions. Taking it in turns at the wheel will be Johannes Stuck,
Claudia Hürtgen, Bernhard Laber and Roland Hertner. Technical
specifications: Length: 4,227 mm Width: 1,845 mm Height: approx. 1,360
mm Wheelbase: 2,660 mm Vehicle weight: 1,135 kg (with driver)
Chassis/body: unitary construction steel body Aero package: front apron,
rear apron, CFRP front wings and rear flared wheel arches, rear
diffusor Front axle: double-joint spring strut axle with adjustable
anti-roll bar Rear axle: five-link axle with adjustable anti-roll bar
Shock absorbers: Sachs with adjustable compression and rebound Brake
system front: 332mm steel discs with six-piston AP fixed callipers
Brake system rear: 284mm steel discs with four-piston AP fixed callipers
Wheels: aluminium rims, 9″x17″ BBS Seat: Recaro ProRacer
HANS Engine Engine type: four-cylinder inline diesel Displacement:
1,995 cc Peak torque 450 Nm at 3,000 rpm Peak output: approx. 245 bhp at
approx. 4,200 rpm Max engine speed: 5,000 rpm Cylinder block: grey-cast
Engine control: DDE6.0 Tank capacity / Fuel: 100 litres, diesel