Rijswijk. MINI Nederland tilt de langdurige samenwerking tussen MINI en Paul Smith naar een nieuw niveau met de introductie van de MINI Cooper Paul Smith Edition. Omdat deze unieke editie vraagt om een speciale lancering, hebben MINI en de Bijenkorf de handen ineengeslagen. MINI en de Bijenkorf vinden elkaar in de missie naar innovatie, inspiratie, duurzaamheid en creativiteit, die allemaal samenkomen in de Paul Smith Edition. Deze editie, beschikbaar op de gehele Cooper-familie, is nu exclusief te bewonderen in de MINI Paul Smith Pop-up bij de Bijenkorf Utrecht van 14 april tot en met 26 april, en bij de Bijenkorf Rotterdam van 29 april tot en met 12 mei.

Een traditie van creativiteit en vakmanschap.
MINI staat al 67 jaar bekend om zijn vooruitstrevende design, slimme ruimtegebruik en go-kart-feeling. Door samen te werken met toonaangevende lifestylemerken en ontwerpers, zoals Deus Ex Machina en Vagabund, blijft MINI unieke modellen ten toon stellen, zoals alleen MINI dat kan doen. De samenwerking met Paul Smith, die begon in 1998 met de eerste MINI Paul Smith Edition, heeft geleid tot een reeks bijzondere modellen die Britse elegantie en innovatie samenbrengen.

De nieuwe MINI Paul Smith Edition: klassiek met een Britse twist.
De MINI Paul Smith Edition is beschikbaar voor de elektrische MINI Cooper en de benzinevarianten van de MINI Cooper 3-Deurs, 5-Deurs en MINI Cooper Cabrio. Het model kenmerkt zich door exclusieve exterieurkleuren zoals ‘Statement Grey’, ‘Inspired White’ en ‘Midnight Black Metallic’, met opvallende accenten in Nottingham Green – een eerbetoon aan de geboortestad van Sir Paul Smith. Unieke details, zoals de ‘Signature Stripe’ op het dak, 18” Night Spoke-velgen en Paul Smith’ handgeschreven inscripties, maken deze editie onmiskenbaar.

Het interieur ademt Britse elegantie met gebreide oppervlakken, sportstoelen in Nightshade Blue en subtiele verwijzingen naar Paul Smith’ iconische streeppatroon. Innovatieve elementen, zoals een ‘Hello’-projectie bij het openen van de deur en het motto ‘Every day is a new beginning’ op de instaplijsten, onderstrepen het speelse karakter van deze samenwerking.

Een inspirerende beleving in de Bijenkorf.
De Bijenkorf staat bekend als het meest creatieve en inspirerende warenhuis van Nederland, een naadloze aansluiting op de waarden van MINI. Ter ere van deze bijzondere samenwerking tussen MINI en Paul Smith is er samen met de Bijenkorf een pop-up gecreëerd in Utrecht, waarbij bezoekers niet alleen de MINI Paul Smith Edition voor het eerst op Nederlandse bodem kunnen voelen, zien en beleven. Ook hangt er een levensgrote fiberglass MINI die tussen de roltrappen speels naar boven ‘rijdt’. Deze pop-up verhuist eind april naar de parterre van de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam, waar bezoekers van het warenhuis in de havenstad kennis kunnen maken met deze stijlvolle Britse MINI Cooper Paul Smith Edition.

De volledig elektrische MINI Cooper Paul Smith Edition is nu al verkrijgbaar en leverbaar vanaf € 37.590,-.

De benzinevarianten – de MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper 5-Deurs en MINI Cooper Cabrio Paul Smith Edition – zijn beschikbaar vanaf eind mei.

+++ From regional development powerhouse to the BMW Group's highest-volume vehicle plant in Europe – Record production in 2025: Plant hits 40-year high with 356,901 vehicles +++

+++ 8.7 million vehicles since start of production in 1986 +++
+++ Plant Director Armin Ebner: “Continuous efforts to increase competitiveness are the key to our success” +++

Regensburg. Plant Regensburg achieved a new production record of 356,901 vehicles in 2025, making it the BMW Group’s highest-volume car plant in Europe. Since the plant opened in 1986, 8.7 million vehicles have rolled off its production line. “With this record production, we not only reached a new all-time high in the plant’s 40-year history but also – as in the previous year – helped the BMW Group’s German plants build more than one million vehicles again in 2025,” says Plant Director Armin Ebner. “For 40 years, the plant has been a central development powerhouse for the eastern Bavarian region.”

Continuous efforts to increase competitiveness as key success factor 

“Continuous and consistent efforts to increase our competitiveness remain the key to our success. Every single day in Regensburg, we demonstrate that competitive production is possible in Germany,” adds Ebner. By implementing efficiency measures within its production system, BMW Group Plant Regensburg has lowered costs by more than a quarter since 2019.

“Digitalisation is an important lever for this,” says Ebner. Examples include the use of artificial intelligence in automated surface processing in the paint shop and for quality controls during vehicle assembly, or a cloud-based traffic control system for supplying parts. Since early 2025, new vehicles have also been able to navigate autonomously, without a driver, from the assembly line to the loading area.

More than 150,000 electrified models in 2025

More than 150,000 of the vehicles manufactured in Regensburg in 2025 were electrified – that is, either fully-electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. The BMW X1 was the highest-volume model, with over 266,000 vehicles produced, while the BMW X2 accounted for more than 90,000 vehicles.

Over 55,000 vehicles remained in the company’s domestic market of Germany. More than half of the cars produced in Regensburg in 2025 went to customers in other European countries. More than 100,000 vehicles were shipped overseas.

Ebner is optimistic about the plant’s anniversary year: “With our attractive BMW X1 and BMW X2 models, we are producing exactly what our customers want, while continuing to operate three shifts around the clock.” Every 57 seconds, a new vehicle rolls off the assembly line. This currently adds up to more than 1,400 vehicles per workday, which are then delivered to customers around the world. Different types of drive train are flexibly manufactured on a single production line – from models with internal combustion engines to plug-in hybrids and fully-electric vehicles.

BMW Group Plant Regensburg – powering jobs across the region

As part of the settlement agreement with the City of Regensburg in the 1980s, BMW pledged to produce 400 vehicles per day and create 3,500 jobs. With the ramp-up and expansion of the plant in subsequent years, both employee numbers and production capacity increased: In 1991, the plant exceeded the 100,000-vehicle threshold for the first time, with around 128,000 cars manufactured. By 1999, it was building about 750 vehicles daily and more than 200,000 annually. In 2005, annual production surpassed 300,000 vehicles for the first time – with a daily output of around 1,000 units. Having assembled its one-millionth vehicle back in 1995, Plant Regensburg is set to produce its nine-millionth vehicle this year.

Employee numbers have also continued to climb: In 1988, the plant employed around 3,300 people. By 1991, that number had risen to about 7,300. Today, the BMW Group’s core staff at its Regensburg and Wackersdorf locations in eastern Bavaria comprises around 9,000 employees, including approximately 380 apprentices.

This makes the plant a significant economic factor and employer across the region. Ebner: “Our employees’ commitment, their innovation mindset and their forward-looking decisions have shaped BMW Group Plant Regensburg into what it is today: a driving force and economic engine for the entire region.”

40 years of BMW Group Plant Regensburg – overview of milestones:

1983      Decision, contract signing for establishment of Regensburg site

1984      Groundbreaking with Minister-President Franz-Josef Strauß;
              construction of production halls begins

1985     Topping-out ceremony

1986     Start of production for BMW 3 Series (E30); around 1,300 employees

1987      Paint shop commissioned;
first networked computers in assembly usher in the computer age

1988     Around 3,300 employees

1990      Body shop commissioned

1991      Annual production: around 128,000 vehicles, surpassing the 100,000 mark;
around 7,300 employees

1995      Production milestone: 1,000,000 vehicles manufactured in Regensburg

1997      Press shop completed

1999      Annual production exceeds 200,000 vehicles for the first time;
              more than 8,700 employees

2001      Groundbreaking for plant expansion: paint shop and body shop

2005      Annual production exceeds 300,000 vehicles for the first time

2007      Groundbreaking for press shop expansion

2010      Assembly/finish refurbishment

2013      New press system commissioned

2014      Completion of automated small parts warehouse

2015      EFQM Excellence Award; BMW X1 series launch

2017      West expansion of assembly commissioned

2018     Start of BMW X2 series production

2025      Additional body shop commissioned in Neutraubling

2026      Around 9,000 employees, including approx. 380 apprentices

40 years of BMW Group Plant Regensburg – vehicle models produced:

*Updated: Dec. 2025

BMW Group Corporate Communications
Saskia Graser, head of Communications Regensburg and Wackersdorf +49 151 6060 2014, Email: Saskia.Graser@bmw.de

Media website: https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en

Email: presse@bmw.de

BMW Group Plants Regensburg and Wackersdorf
BMW Group Plant Regensburg has been in operation for more than four decades. After construction of the production halls was completed in 1984, series production of the BMW 3 Series (E30) began in autumn 1986. As part of the settlement agreement with the City of Regensburg, BMW pledged at that time to produce 400 vehicles per day and create 3,500 jobs.

Today, Plant Regensburg is one of more than 30 BMW Group production locations worldwide. More than 1,400 BMW X1 and BMW X2 model vehicles roll off the assembly line each day, destined for customers around the globe. Different types of drive train are flexibly manufactured on a single production line – from models with internal combustion engines to plug-in hybrids and fully-electric vehicles.

Within the framework of the BMW iFACTORY, the BMW Group is also setting standards at its Regensburg location in the fields of digitalisation, circularity and competitiveness – as confirmed by recent awards. For example, in 2025, the plant was named “FACTORY OF THE YEAR” in the category “Excellent Large-Series Assembly”. In addition, the BMW X1 from Regensburg was once again voted Best in Class in “Best Cars 2025”. It is already possible to experience, in virtual form, what the factory will look like in the coming years. Production of the “Neue Klasse” – BMW’s next model generation – is set to ramp up in Regensburg in the second half of this decade.

BMW Group Plant Wackersdorf is home to cockpit production and parts supply for overseas plants, and also serves as the door and flap production centre for Rolls-Royce. With its battery testing centre, the site also makes a significant contribution to electromobility.

The BMW Group's core staff at its Regensburg and Wackersdorf locations in eastern Bavaria comprises around 9,000 employees, including approximately 380 apprentices.

www.bmwgroup-werke.com/regensburg/de.html

Ter gelegenheid van het 50-jarig jubileum van de BMW 3 Serie is het perspakket "40 Years of BMW 3 Series " uit 2015 uitgebreid herzien, aangevuld en geactualiseerd. 

Onderstaand tref je het geactualiseerde Engelstalige perspakket aan.

München. BMW Group Classic publiceert digitale historische modeloverzichten voor gebruik door het grote publiek en vult het onlangs herziene BMW Group Online Archive aan met een uitgebreide historische online productcatalogus van de merken BMW, Mini en BMW Motorrad.

Eerst werden de historische modeloverzichten van de merken Mini en BMW Motorrad in 2021 beschikbaar gesteld voor het grote publiek. Het historische modeloverzicht van het merk BMW is nu ook online beschikbaar.

Dit onderzoeksinstrument is beschikbaar voor media, liefhebbers en fans op https://www.bmwgroup-classic.com/en/history/historic-modeloverview-bmw.html. Er staan in totaal 424 BMW modellen beschikbaar in dit overzicht. Het productgamma van BMW omvat alle seriemodellen van het BMW 3/15 pk model tot de BMW 3 Serie (E46), inclusief BMW Z4 (E85/E86) in een totale periode van 80 jaar (1928 tot en met 2008). De historische modeloverzichten van de merken Mini en BMW Motorrad maken het online onderzoeksaanbod compleet.

In alle merkgebieden zijn er overzichten van alle klassieke voertuigen met korte en informatieve teksten over modelseries, carrosserievarianten en motoren.

Deze worden verrijkt met actuele afbeeldingen uit de BMW Group Classic voertuigcollectie en het historische BMW mediarchief. Hiervoor werden 614 datasets en 524 afbeeldingen verwerkt. Tijdens het ontwerp werd de nadruk gelegd op de toekomstbestendigheid van het instrument. De historische modeloverzichten kunnen worden uitgebreid met toekomstige voertuiggeneraties.

Iedereen die nog dieper wil duiken in de auto's van BMW Group en andere onderwerpen gerelateerd aan de bedrijfsgeschiedenis van BMW Group, kan dit doen onder verdere links naar het BMW Group Classic online archief, herzien in 2024. Bijvoorbeeld publicaties (brochures, werkplaatshandboeken, boordliteratuur, etc.) en vaksboeken zijn daar ook te vinden.

Katrin Gfrörer, Head of BMW Group Archives and Historic Vehicle Collection: “Door onze complete historische modeloverzichten online beschikbaar te maken, voldoen we aan een hoge externe vraag naar historische productinformatie die al vele jaren bestaat en maximaliseren we klanttevredenheid met nog een digitaal hulpmiddel. Daarnaast is het grootste deel van de database in ons online archief openbaar beschikbaar op de website van BMW Group Archive en kan het worden gebruikt voor informatie- en onderzoeksdoeleinden. Deze maatregelen onderstrepen indrukwekkend de digitaliseringsstrategie van BMW Group Classic."

De historische modeloverzichten en het BMW Group Archief zijn te bereiken via de volgende links:

Hist. BMW modeloverzicht: https://www.bmwgroup-classic.com/en/history/historic-modeloverview-bmw.html

Hist. Mini modeloverzicht: https://www.bmwgroup-classic.com/en/history/historic-modeloverview-mini.html

Hist. BMW Motorrad modeloverzicht: https://www.bmwgroup-classic.com/en/history/historic-modeloverview-bmwmotorrad.html

BMW Group Archive: https://bmw-grouparchiv.de/irc/

BMW Group Classic Website: https://www.bmwgroup-classic.com/en.html

München. De feestelijke campagne van dit jaar van BMW – getiteld "Das Geschenk" (Het Geschenk) – vertelt het ontroerende verhaal van een jongen genaamd Tim, die niets liever wil dan een heel speciale traktatie vinden voor zijn geliefde oma. Tegelijkertijd vervolgt het merk zijn reis naar de introductie van de Neue Klasse door terug te blikken op een icoon uit de autogeschiedenis dat in de jaren '60 een nieuw tijdperk voor BMW inluidde (eveneens onder de naam Neue Klasse). De film die centraal staat in de campagne is vol gevoel en laat zien hoe het befaamde BMW rijplezier generaties samenbrengt – op twee verschillende manieren.

De film begint met een wandeling door een feestelijk versierd stadscentrum. Tim en zijn ouders zijn op zoek naar een kerstcadeau voor zijn grootmoeder. Zijn ouders komen met het ene na het andere clichématige voorstel, die allemaal prompt en zelfverzekerd worden afgewezen door hun zevenjarige. Uiteindelijk ziet hij in een etalage hetgeen dat zijn oma – en hemzelf – de grootste vreugde zal schenken. Tims ouders zijn aanvankelijk niet overtuigd, maar besluiten uiteindelijk toch mee te gaan in de wens van hun zoon. Tims grootmoeder opent het enorme pakket met haar familie op kerstavond om een BMW Junior Seat kinderautostoeltje te onthullen. Zowel grootmoeder als kleinzoon weten meteen wat dit betekent: ze kunnen nu samen uitstapjes maken in haar klassieke BMW 1500. Want vreugde is het kostbaarste geschenk – en de vreugde van het rijden overbrugt jong en oud.

Deze vermakelijke feestfilm benadrukt het rijplezier dat centraal staat bij het merk en maakt de BMW 1500 – meer dan 60 jaar geleden gelanceerd onder de Neue Klasse paraplu – de "verborgen ster" van de campagne. De film is opgenomen in Wenen, Oostenrijk, en heeft als soundtrack de kerstklassieker uit de jaren '80 "Christmas In Hollis" van de Amerikaanse hiphoplegendes Run-D.M.C.

Sociale media signalen nodigen de gemeenschap uit om mee te doen
Jung von Matt bedacht het idee en concept voor de nieuwste feestelijke campagne. Het creatieve bureau uit Hamburg werkte samen met BMW Marketing en het in München gevestigde productiebedrijf Hochkant om de 100-seconden durende film te produceren, die te zien zal zijn op de kanalen van BMW op YouTube, LinkedIn en Instagram kanalen. Daarnaast zal de film ook te zien zijn op Netflix in zowel Duitsland als Groot-Brittannië. En een 60-seconden versie van "Das Geschenk" zal ook tijdens de feestdagen op televisie in Duitsland worden uitgezonden.

PIRO GmbH is verantwoordelijk voor het uitrollen van de campagne over de sociale mediaplatforms van het merk. Het idee van Tim zijn nogal speciale en onconventionele cadeau wordt ook opgepikt in een reeks begeleidende posts. Zo worden bijvoorbeeld feestelijke visuals getoond van auto-onderdelen – ingepakt in kerstpapier – die de gemeenschap een puzzel voorleggen om op te lossen.

Wanneer generaties elkaar ontmoeten – kijken naar een iconische klassieker met moderne ogen
Zowel het rijplezier als de aantrekkingskracht van de klassieke BMW 1500 zijn universeel en tijdloos. En een aparte sociale media serie omkadert deze generatie-overstijgende vibes met bijzondere charme. Tim probeert om te gaan met de klassieke auto zoals hij gewend is met moderne voertuigen, maar de Neue Klasse uit de jaren '60 mist elektrische ramen, de BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant en andere hedendaagse functies. Maar geen zorgen, want Tim zijn oma heeft altijd een truc achter de hand om de illusie in stand te houden, de verbeelding van de jongen te voeden en het gevoel van pure vreugde te verspreiden: https://youtu.be/q3enbnm08q4

Munich. This landmark year is particularly special as MINI introduces an all-new lineup, featuring the beloved MINI Cooper, the versatile MINI Countryman, and the bold MINI Aceman. These new models represent the next chapter in MINI's storied history, combining cutting-edge technology with the classic driving excitement that MINI is known for.

In addition, Fall 2024 will see the debut of the entire new John Cooper Works lineup, available in both petrol and electric versions. These high-performance models continue the legacy of MINI’s racing heritage, offering enthusiasts a choice between 4-cylinder TwinPower engines and the latest in electric performance.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of MINI’s first victory at the Monte Carlo Rally - an achievement that solidified MINI’s reputation in motorsport. Fittingly, MINI celebrated this heritage with a category victory at the 2024 24 Hours of Nürburgring race, thanks to the exceptional performance of the MINI John Cooper Works PROtotype prepared by Bulldog Racing.

As MINI commemorates 65 years of automotive excellence, the brand looks forward to continuing its legacy of innovation, racing success, and driving excitement for many years to come.

Tijdens de achtste editie van de Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort (6 t/m 8 september) kan het publiek in de unieke BMW Motorsport Paddock live genieten van legendarische autosporthistorie. Voor dit bijzondere pop-up museum in het Zandvoortse rennerskwartier heeft BMW Nederland een prachtige collectie van maar liefst zes beroemde BMW racewagens verzameld. Tijdens de driedaagse Historic Grand Prix kan iedereen in de BMW Motorsport Paddock deze iconische auto’s van dichtbij bewonderen. Bovendien komen elke dag vier van deze racewagens in actie op de baan, bestuurd door bekende Nederlandse coureurs.

De 80-jarige geschiedenis van BMW en Zandvoort gaat terug tot de allereerste autorace ooit in Nederland. Deze op 3 juni 1939 verreden “Prijs van Zandvoort” voltrok zich toen nog op een stratencircuit in het dorp. In de race voor sportwagens met motoren groter dan 1500cc zegevierde die gedenkwaardige dag de Nederlandse racepionier Piet Nortier met een BMW 328. Dit jaar - 80 jaar dus na die eerste zege in Zandvoort met de BMW 328 - staat in de BMW Motorsport Paddock dan ook de illustere BMW 3 Serie centraal, waarvan recent de zevende generatie is geïntroduceerd.

De vier BMW racewagens waarmee elke dag een demonstratie wordt gegeven zijn de Groep 5 BMW 320 E21 waarmee het BMW Junior Team in 1977 furore maakte in het Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (de voorloper van de DTM), de 2.5 liter Groep A BMW M3 E30 waarmee Johnny Cecotto in 1992 in de DTM racete, en de BMW 320i WTCC waarmee Andy Priaulx in 2005 het felbevochten wereldkampioenschap voor toerwagens won. In het kader van de lancering van de nieuwe BMW Z4 (die tevens in het Zandvoortse rennerskwartier te bewonderen zal zijn) komt bovendien ook de BMW Z4 GT3 in actie waarmee onder ander racelegende Alex Zanardi in 2015 meedeed aan de 24 uur van Spa. Opvallend is de kleurrijke bestickering van die auto: een ode aan de fameuze stripheld Michel Vaillant.

Deze vier auto's worden bestuurd door Jan Lammers, Gerrit van Kouwen, John Bosch en Simon Knap. Jan Lammers was in 1980 BMW coureur in het BMW M1 Procar kampioenschap, John Bosch racete onder meer in de Formule 3 en de 24 uur van Le Mans en maakte met een BMW M3 jarenlang furore in het Europees rallykampioenschap. Gerrit van Kouwen, in de jaren tachtig een winnaar in de Formule 3 en daarna met de BMW M3, stapt speciaal voor deze gelegenheid voor het eerst sinds ruim 25 jaar weer in een raceauto. Simon Knap, tenslotte, is met een BMW M4 GT4 succesvol in het Europees kampioenschap.

Statisch te bewonderen in de BMW Motorsport Paddock is de uiterst zeldzame Brabham-BMW BT54 Formule 1-auto. Drievoudig wereldkampioen Nelson Piquet reed in de zomer van 1985 deze Brabham-BMW in Zandvoort naar een historische pole position: met een gemiddelde snelheid van ruim 215 km/u was - en is het nog steeds - de snelste ronde ooit in Zandvoort gereden. Eén jaar voordat de Formule 1 terugkeert naar Zandvoort, stelt BMW Nederland deze 1200 pk sterke “pole sitter” uit 1985 tentoon tijdens de Historic Grand Prix. Bijzonder feit: de BMW viercilinder turbomotor van de Brabham F1-auto was gebaseerd op het legendarische BMW M10 motorblok dat in die tijd voor de BMW 3 Serie werd gebruikt.

Eveneens een ware eyecatcher in de BMW Motorsport Paddock is de unieke Jägermeister BMW 325i DTM. Nadat BMW zich eind 1992 terugtrok uit de DTM, besloot het raceteam van Ludwig Linder voor 1993 zelf een BMW te ontwikkelen voor de nieuwe 2.5 liter Class 1-regels van de DTM. Hoewel Linder als privéteam geen kans maakte tegen de fabrieksteams, groeide zijn BMW 325i uit tot een ware publiekslieveling. Met dank aan Vink Motorsport pronkt deze unieke auto nu in de BMW Motorsport Paddock.

Peter Haug, Directeur Marketing BMW Group Nederland: “Prachtig dat we de racegenen van de nieuwe BMW 3 Serie en BMW Z4 kunnen tonen met deze fantastische collectie BMW racewagens. Zowel langs de baan als in onze BMW Motorsport Paddock kan het publiek drie dagen lang zijn hart ophalen aan onze rijke racehistorie.”

Voor de zevende editie van de Historic Grand Prix brengt BMW Group Nederland drie bijzondere Le Mans racers bijeen op het circuit van Zandvoort. Met de sfeervolle BMW Motorsport Paddock creëert BMW Group Nederland wederom een uniek pop-up museum in het Zandvoortse rennerskwartier. Tijdens de driedaagse Historic Grand Prix kunnen bezoekers hier hun hart ophalen aan maar liefst drie kopstukken uit de rijke historie van BMW in de 24 uur van Le Mans.

Deze drie Le Mans Legends komen bovendien ook elke dag in actie op de baan, bestuurd door bekende Nederlandse coureurs. Voormalig BMW-fabrieksrijder Peter Kox wordt herenigd met de even zeldzame als fenomenale McLaren-BMW F1 GTR Longtail waarmee hij in 1997 op Le Mans furore maakte. Jan Lammers, die dit jaar voor de 24e keer aan de start verscheen van de 24 uur van Le Mans, rijdt met de BMW V12 LMR, in 1999 winnaar van de beroemde 24 Heures.

John Bosch, jarenlang internationaal succesvol in de rallysport met een BMW M3 (en meervoudig deelnemer aan de 24 uur van Le Mans), stapt in een BMW M1 Procar die in 1981 op Le Mans in actie kwam. Overigens werd die M1 destijds ingezet door Dr. Helmut Marko, die tegenwoordig een hoofdrol speelt in het F1-team waarvoor Max Verstappen uitkomt.

De bijzondere band tussen BMW en Zandvoort gaat terug naar 1939, toen in Zandvoort de eerste autorace in Nederland werd verreden, toen nog op een stratencircuit. Een BMW 328 Roadster won die dag één van de wedstrijden.

De Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort 2018 vindt plaats van vrijdag 31 augustus t/m zondag 2 september.

De BMW HP nineT is een spectaculaire customdesign caféracer. Het ontwerp is afkomstig van Jeffry Sol, eigenaar van High Octane Speed Shop. De onthulling vindt plaats op vrijdag 6 november aanstaande om 15:00 uur op de stand van BMW Motorrad op de Bigtwin Bikeshow in Rosmalen.

Snelheid en functionaliteit.
Begin 2014 schrijft BMW Motorrad in samenwerking met het blad Bigtwin de Soul Fuel Challenge uit. Bij deze wedstrijd worden Nederlandse custombouwers uitgedaagd hun creativiteit op de BMW R nineT los te laten. Het ontwerp van Smokin' Motorcycles, de Elegant Bastard wint. De HP nineT van High Octane wordt tweede. Voor Jeffry Sol uit Naarden, de ontwerper en eigenaar van de High Octane Speed Shop is dat een stimulans om zijn HP nineT toch te gaan bouwen. Hij koopt een standaard R nineT en gaat aan de slag.

“Vanaf het moment dat ik een nieuwe, standaard R nineT in mijn werkplaats had, ben ik 'm in alle rust tot in de details gaan bestuderen”, vertelt hij. “Per onderdeel vroeg ik me af waarvoor het nodig is - en of een eventuele aanpassing ook technisch te realiseren is. Voor het ontwerp heb ik me laten inspireren door klassieke racewagens en racemotoren. Daarbij zie je onmiddellijk dat ze gebouwd zijn op snelheid en functionaliteit. Die sfeer en uitstraling wilde ik ook in het design van de HP nineT terug laten komen.”

Jeffry werkt een jaar lang aan de realisatie van zijn ontwerp. Alleen de tank blijft gehandhaafd. “De tank is een van de échte designfeatures van de R nineT. Dat is mijn uitgangspunt geworden en die vorm moest ook goed passen bij alle onderdelen die ik zelf zou gaan maken.” Al het plaatwerk is volledig opnieuw en naar inzicht van Jeffry vormgegeven uit 1,5 mm dik aluminium. Daarbij werkt hij met een zogenoemd ‘Engels wiel’, een soort wringer, waarmee bijvoorbeeld spatborden hun mooie rondingen krijgen. Met dit ambachtelijke handwerk stal Jeffry de show op de BMW Motorrad Day, afgelopen september.

Van het gehele bouwproces is door het magazine Bigtwin een verslag in drie nummers gemaakt. En wie wil zien hoe custombouwers overal ter wereld aan het werk zijn gegaan met de BMW R nineT als uitgangspunt moet beslist even kijken op www.bmw-motorrad.nl/heritage.

Als eind 2013 de eerste BMW i3 van de band rolt in Leipzig, markeert dat het voorlopige hoogtepunt van 40 jaar ontwikkelingswerk bij BMW. Het begon allemaal in 1972 tijdens de Olympische Spelen in München, waar de BMW line-up bestond uit twee elektrisch aangedreven BMW 1602 testauto's. Daarna lanceerde BMW nog een reeks van onderzoek- en ontwikkelingprojecten met als doel een betere en vooral efficiëntere technologie voor elektrische aandrijfsystemen op de weg te krijgen. Onderstaand het volledige Engelstalige persbericht.

When the first production version of the BMW i3 rolls off the assembly line in Leipzig in late 2013, it will mark the provisional culmination of 40 years of development work at BMW. It all began at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where the BMW starting line-up included two electrically powered test vehicles. The converted BMW 1602 models served as a means of transport for the members of the organising committee, and were also deployed as support and camera cars in various long-distance events. However, there could be no questioning that lead batteries weighing 350 kilograms and with a range of around 60 kilometres (37 miles) were hardly ideal for a production car. BMW therefore launched a series of research and development projects with the aim of bringing an improved and, above all, more efficient technology for electric drive systems onto the road.

Please find attached the full version.

“A company is like a human being. As long as it goes in for sports, it is fit, well-trained, full of enthusiasm and performance.” These were the words of Robert A. Lutz, BMW AG Board Member Sales, back in 1972. They were the words christening the youngest subsidiary of BMW AG at the time, BMW Motorsport GmbH. Today the company is called BMW M GmbH. But it is just as fit, well-trained, full of enthusiasm and performance as it was 40 years ago.

The early 1970s were the dawn of a new age for BMW: A new, young Board of Management under Eberhard von Kuenheim had set out to strategically power and pursue the ongoing success of the Company. This included the construction of a new head office – the legendary BMW Four-Cylinder – as well as the establishment of BMW’s own in-house Sports Division. Quoting Robert A. Lutz once again: “With sports always being a driving force at BMW, also while the Company was developing dynamically in the business world, it was only obvious at this point that we should concentrate and consolidate our activities in motor sport.”

Indeed, demand and untapped opportunities exceeded the potentials and capacities of the former Sports Department by far. The BMW 1800 TI and 2000 TI, as well as the entire 02 Series, were the most popular competition cars winning one race after the other. But BMW itself was able to meet only a fragment of the overall demand, the vast majority of cars being prepared, run and sold by tuning companies. Since the mid-1960s, BMW had also been involved in Formula 2 – and in the years to come hardly a team anywhere was able to enter this Formula successfully without BMW’s high-performance power units. Countless racing wins and European Championships by BMW dominated the scene.

1972: A team highly experienced in racing forms BMW Motorsport GmbH.

BMW Motorsport GmbH, facing the challenges described, took over on 1 May 1972. The Managing Director of this team of specialists originally made up of 35 employees was Jochen Neerpasch, an ex-Porsche works driver and Ford’s Racing Manager in Cologne before moving to Munich.

He immediately attracted a whole group of racing drivers destined to leave their stamp on BMW Motorsport for decades to come: Chris Amon, Toine Hezemans, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Dieter Quester. Björn Waldegaard and Achim Warmbold were hired by the Company as rally drivers.

The new company was able to move into its own building after just a few months, with the racing workshop and racing engine production shop, toolmaking and the engine dynamometer all being installed in the immediate vicinity of BMW’s Munich Plant on a site measuring more than 8,000 square metres in Preussenstrasse. This is where the sports machines for 1973 saw the light of day: A 950-kilo 2002 powered by a two-litre four-valve four-cylinder for rally racing, with maximum output of 240 hp, as well as a new touring coupé described by Jochen Neerpasch in the early days in very clear words: “Since we saw 1973 as our kick-off year, we didn’t expect to win this European Championship right away.” The model designation of the new car was 3.0 CSL. The doors and lids were made of aluminium, the five-speed gearbox featured a magnesium housing. Overall weight was 1,092 kg or 2,408 lb. But the real highlight was hidden beneath the hood, a 3,340 cc straight-six with 12 valves, fuel injection and a compression ratio of 11:1. Maximum output: 360 hp. This was the last two-valve engine that BMW built for racing.

BMW’s traditional philosophy: The human focus.

BMW Motorsport GmbH entered the 1973 season perfectly prepared not only in technical terms. The drivers were also top-fit, with Jochen Neerpasch taking the entire team of drivers to a “driver tuning” season in St. Moritz. Here, in this Swiss skiers’ paradise, the entire team received the final touch from a sports instructor and a sports psychologist. Even back then, in the very early years, BMW attached the utmost importance to optimisation of the man/machine interface. And there were even plans back then for similar courses to be offered to “non-professionals”. Since 1977 these courses have been called BMW Driver Training.

This was the team BMW Motorsport GmbH took to the race track in the 1973 season. And it was not only the 3.0 CSL coupé that hit the headlines from the very beginning: For the first time a complete racing team from the car transport vehicle to the key tag came in the same design.

 These were the three blue, violet and red colour stripes on a brilliant white background characterising the look of BMW Motorsport to this very day.

The CSL coupés in these colours soon known to everybody in the world of motor racing were unbeatable. Hans-Joachim Stuck and Chris Amon brought home the Touring Car Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in their very first attempt. BMW was the overall winner of the Touring Car Category in the 24 Hour Race at Le Mans.

The most successful touring car of its day: The BMW 3.0 CSL .

The 3.0 CSL dream coupé in its spectacular racing livery subsequently became the most successful touring car of its time, winning the European Championship six times between 1973 and 1979 and dominating the international touring car scene for almost a decade. But the BMW 3.0 CSL was a pioneer not only in its colour design, but also through a whole range of significant technical innovations: First, it was powered from 1973 by BMW’s first-ever four-valve six-cylinder. Second, it featured a prototype anti-lock braking system from 1974, long before this innovation became standard technology in the BMW 7 Series. And at the end of its career, in the guise of the turbo coupé, the 3.0 CSL developed maximum output of up to 800 hp. In 1976, BMW Motorsport GmbH sent BMW’s most powerful touring car out on to the track with Ronnie Peterson at the wheel, this supreme version of the CSL featuring a 3.2-litre biturbo engine with output intentionally reduced to 750 hp.

BMW Motorsport GmbH maintained its successful process of development also in Formula 2: Fifty of BMW’s two-litre four-valve engines went to March, subsequently winning 11 out of 16 races. In 1973 Jean Pierre Jarier, powered by a BMW engine, brought home the European Formula 2 Championship at the wheel of his March and the engine dominated the two-litre category consistently for nearly ten years, with Patrick Depailler (1974), Bruno Giacomelli (1978), Marc Surer (1979) and Corrado Fabi (1982) winning the European title in their BMW-powered March Formula 2 racing cars. Other teams were equally thrilled by this two-litre four-cylinder built in a production run of more than 500 units, most of which developing over 300 hp.

In 1975, BMW Motorsport GmbH shifted its focus to the other side of the Atlantic: Now the Company concentrated on the US IMSA Series, seeking in the process to present the letters “BMW” to a larger US market. When the year came to an end, the number of US citizens who knew that BMW stood for “Bavarian Motor Works” had increased considerably – and this was no surprise with BMW winning the Manufacturer’s Category in the IMSA Championship.

1976: The “driver’s school” becomes BMW Driver Training.

On 3 February 1976, BMW’s Board of Management decided to entrust BMW Motorsport GmbH with yet another task: to professionalise an activity still referred to at the time as a “driver’s school”. The original brief given to the Management of the Company was to organise 15 courses a year with 20 participants each at BMW’s test facilities, as well as five additional courses with 100 participants in each case on race tracks – that is a total of 800 participants a year. “As the Company responsible throughout BMW for all motor sport activities, BMW Motorsport GmbH wishes to promote the driver in his performance as part of the man/machine system.” This was the key statement in the initial publication of BMW Driver Training – and it remains valid to this very day.

From the very beginning one of the main features of BMW Driver Training was to provide the cars for the participants to use – and this philosophy remains unchanged to this very day. This means that all participants have the same cars in technical terms and need not worry about tyre wear and their own cars. To implement this philosophy in practice, the Company established its own small fleet of BMW 320i’s, at the time the ideal car for training with its maximum output of 125 hp. All of these cars featured a specially tuned suspension, a limited-slip differential with 40 per cent locking action, and a bucket seat for the driver. So BMW’s first “team” in Driver Training was certainly well prepared.

The BMW Driver Training curriculum was all set and ready to go following the first test courses at the Manching Military Airfield near Ingolstadt, Rauno Aaltonen officially signing up as BMW’s first chief instructor on 13 January 1977. In fact, Aaltonen applied his experience not only on the track, but also through the only book on driver training published at the time: “Revolution at the Wheel” – a unique book clearly describing the course and its curriculum, and therefore sold out almost overnight. To this very day, the “Flying Finn” passes on his unique skills to BMW drivers, although the focus has now for a long time been on greater safety.

Soon making their appearance: The first “extra-hot” road-going BMW.

Well into the second half of the 1970s, BMW Motorsport GmbH focused almost exclusively on the construction of racing cars. The new BMW 320 entered in Group 5, for example, continued the outstanding success of the 02 Series. But many a good customer – not just racing drivers, but also BMW enthusiasts in everyday life – were also looking for M Power on regular roads and this is how the first “hot” 5 Series came into being from 1974: the 530, 533i, 535i. Indeed, these cars were superior to their production counterparts not only in terms of their engines, but also in their suspension and brake technology receiving the special attention of the engineers at BMW Motorsport GmbH. “Regular” saloons almost “normal” at first sight thus became the first high-performance four-seaters revolutionising the world of the sports car through their sophisticated technology. Initially these were built and sold only in very small numbers, but soon the performance philosophy became increasingly popular. By 1980, 895 units based on the first 5 Series had been purchased.

The big sensation in the world of sports cars in 1978: The BMW M1.

The next project to come along was geared towards producing Motorsport GmbH’s first competition car not based on a regular production model: the BMW M1. While BMW built the technical components, Lamborghini was supposed to supply the body and the chassis. However, financial problems at Lamborghini resulted in significant delays. Ultimately, a new production chain had to be found and the manufacture of the BMW M1 turned into something of a patchwork puzzle. The spaceframe was manufactured at Marchesi, the glass-fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell was produced at T.I.R., both companies were based in Modena. Giorgio Giugiaro’s company ItalDesign assembled them and provided the interiors fittings. The cars were then transported to Stuttgart where Baur installed all the mechanical assemblies.

Jochen Neerpasch, the Managing Director of Motorsport GmbH, joined forces with Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley to create the ProCar Series as the opening race leading into most European Formula 1 Grand Prix during the 1979/80 season.

Since the minimum production requirement for homologation in FIA Group 4 was 400 units, the ultra-low mid-engined M1 measuring a mere 1.14 metres in height also came as a road-going model. The first car with the famous letter “M” made its debut in the market. The price of the 277 hp M1 back in 1978 was exactly DM 100,000, but demand exceeded supply by far. When 130 cars had been completed after one year, there were still more than 300 firm orders waiting to be fulfilled. Right from the start the M1 was the fastest road-going sports car built in Germany, as timed by a leading car journal: In a test conducted in 1979, the M1 reached a top speed of 264.7 km/h or 164.1 mph. “You only have to shift up from fourth to fifth at 213 km/h or 132 mph, and then keep on accelerating all-out up to the top speed of the car,” according to the testers. Lots of customers appreciated this, as did the subsequent Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones.

Even this was very little compared with the racing version: Developing 470 hp, the ProCar racing version had a top speed well over 300 km/h or 190 mph. And it was in one of these cars that Niki Lauda, already two-time winner of the Formula 1 World Championship, made his big appearance in 1979, winning three out of 8 M1 ProCar races and finishing second on another occasion. In the USA the Red Lobster Team Ml’s quickly became genuine cult cars wiping out the competition in the IMSA GTO Class.

Motivated by the outstanding success of the M1 and its great image, Motorsport GmbH decided to build another model: Proceeding from the regular 5 Series, the engineers developed and built the M535i in 1980, carrying over the two-valve six-cylinder from the 635CSi. With engine output of 218 hp, this 5 Series quickly became the king of the fast lane.

Formula 1 sensation in 1980: BMW creates the World Championship turbo engine.

Jochen Neerpasch left Motorsport GmbH in 1980 and was succeeded by Dieter Stappert taking over as the Racing Director. Paul Rosche, in turn, who had been responsible for BMW racing engines since 1969, was appointed Technical Director. And it was indeed Paul Rosche who became the key player when BMW decided in the early 1980s to prove its competence also in the highest realms of motor sport: In April 1980, BMW officially announced its entry into Formula 1, giving the engineers at Motorsport GmbH the green light to develop BMW’s first Formula 1 power unit:

Taking a four-cylinder displacing only 1.5 litres and based on a standard production block, the team of specialists around engine “wizard” Paul Rosche created a Formula 1 power unit developing staggering output of 800 hp. The secret behind this mind-boggling performance was the combination of 16-valve technology and a turbocharger masterminded for the first time in Formula 1 by Digital Motor Electronics.

The first training car was put through its paces in practice just a year later and in 1982 Brabham entered the first Grand Prix with a BMW engine. Right from the start, this turbocharged power unit proved its supremacy on the track, with the greatest triumph following in 1983: Just 630 days after BMW’s Formula 1 engine had made its first appearance, Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet won the World Championship in a Brabham BMW. And up to 1987 BMW brought home a total 9 Grand Prix wins with this successful machine.

BMW M turbo engines did not only go to the Brabham Team. Arrows also used the M power machine from 1984 to 1986, just like ATS in 1983/84 and Ligier in 1987. In 1986, Gerhard Berger won the race in Mexico in a Benetton car, marking the last triumph of this turbocharged power unit. A year later Road and Track, the US car journal, demonstrated the supreme performance of the Benetton B 186 with Teo Fabi at the wheel: Powered by 900 hp, Fabi’s monoposto accelerated to 100 mph (160 km/h) in exactly 4.8 seconds. And Paul Rosche was confident that this four-cylinder was able to develop a lot more power in practice: “It must have been about 1,400 hp, but we don’t know the exact figure since the engine dynamometer didn’t go beyond 1280 hp.”

Another important event in 1983 went almost unnoticed: BMW Motorsport GmbH took on additional functions and responsibilities when it was transformed into a performance-oriented development company. Accordingly, the headcount at BMW’s highly successful subsidiary was now increased to 380, further important responsibilities such as motor-sport organisation, administration and workshops being added to the development, design and testing of outstanding BMW products. This saw the creation of individual development centres for engines and suspension technology providing the input for these activities. And in its customer relations Motorsport GmbH had already been offering far more than “just” sophisticated automotive technology for a long time already, sales of accessories and the growing wish of discerning customers for custom-built and individually equipped cars already accounting for a significant share in sales. 

BMW M1 six-cylinder also featured in production cars: The M5 and M635CSi.

In 1984, Motorsport GmbH hit the headlines once again, especially among all aficionados of high-performance sports cars: The fast-revving four-valve straight-six originally featured in the M1 now made its appearance in the M635CSi Coupé and in the M5. Particularly the M5 hand-built in Preussenstrasse quickly became a legend in the world of motoring: The M5 was a genuine “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, with output of 286 hp exceeding the engine power of the 518i almost three times. While at first sight the M5 could hardly be distinguished from its regular production counterpart, its top speed of 245 km/h or 152 mph caught many drivers of big saloons and sports cars thoroughly by surprise when the M5 simply left them standing no matter how hard they tried. The term “Executive Express” was born.

1986: The debut of the M3, the most successful touring car ever.

After completing its activities in Formula 1, Motorsport GmbH focused all its energy on touring car racing. And in 1986 this resulted in the birth of the BMW M3, a compact two-door sports saloon representing BMW’s first parallel development in series production and motor sport: The road version requiring a production run of 5,000 units within one year for recognition as a touring car was conceived for racing right from the start and tailored in virtually every respect to the regulations in Group A. Since the facilities in Preussenstrasse were unable to handle the sheer magnitude of the tasks involved, Motorsport GmbH moved to its second home in the Munich suburb of Garching in 1986.

The result was an outstanding success for BMW in every respect. Right from the start, this brilliant white racing car in BMW Motorsport livery brought home one racing win, trophy and title after the other: In 1987, Italian driver Roberto Ravaglia won the World Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a BMW M3.

Developing maximum output of 195 hp from its four-cylinder 16-valve power unit and featuring a catalytic converter as standard, this high-performance saloon became the benchmark in motor sport from now on.

In the five years to follow, the M3 was the uncontested leader in the international touring car scene, bringing home two European Touring Car Championships, winning the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) twice as well as a large number of other international events and championships, and thus becoming the most successful touring car.

The M3 was equally successful as a road-going car for customers, reaching a sales volume nobody would have expected: Sales of the first BMW M3 amounted to more than 17,970 units, including 600 2.5-litre M3 Sportevolution models as well as 765 M3 convertibles built by hand. The M3 also proved that sporting performance and environmental protection need not necessarily be a contradiction in terms, with the M3 offering a standard of fuel economy quite unparalleled in relation to its power and performance.

A new market: The second M5 also built as a touring car.

The M5 entered its second generation in 1988, the straight-six power unit originally displacing 3.6 and subsequently 3.8 litres, with output increasing first to 315 and then to 340 hp. Another change was that the engines no longer bore the “M” in their internal production code, but rather an “S” designating the origin of BMW Motorsport GmbH power units from now on. The customer is able to determine the difference at a glance, the letters “BMW” now being replaced by “M Power” on the valve cover, just as on the M3 four-cylinder. The M5 was initially introduced as a saloon and then at the beginning of 1992 as a touring to create ­a unique synthesis of a thoroughbred sports car and a sophisticated transport vehicle.

When the next 3 Series was set to make its appearance in 1990, Motorsport GmbH was already working on the new BMW M3 which was launched on the market in 1992. But the new car was no longer adorned by striking spoilers and widely flared wheel arches, like its predecessor. Instead, the new M3 – reflecting the signs of the times – came in a more discreet look and was recognisable to the connoisseur only through specific details – one of which, of course, being the unmistakable sound generated by the three-litre six-cylinder four-valve power unit developing maximum output of 286 hp. This M3 six-cylinder was also BMW’s first engine with VANOS variable valve timing, an infinitely adjustable system varying the intake camshaft as required. This system patented by BMW M boosts torque above all at low and medium engine speeds.

Another unique feature on this car seen for the first time was the introduction of engine management developed by BMW and with a capacity of 20 million instructions per second.

The Car of the Century: The second BMW M3.

Customers and the media alike simply loved this M3 right from the start. The order books were full immediately and the first titles and awards were just around the corner. The readers of sport auto, the German motor magazine, made this most agile of all BMW 3 Series their “Car of the Year” no less than twice in a row, Auto Plus in France even chose the M3 following a comparison with other upmarket models as the “Car of the Century”. And immediately after the M3 had been launched in the USA, the editors of Automobile Magazine gave the new star their “Car of the Year” award, the first time ever that this prize went to an import.

This time both a convertible and a somewhat more comfort-oriented saloon were included in the planning process right from the outset. Developing maximum output of 295 hp, the M3 GT produced in a small, special series moved up the performance benchmark right to the top. Between 1992 and 1996 Motorsport GmbH built more than 85 four-door racing 3 Series based on this M3, with Johnny Cecotto at the wheel winning the ADAC GT Championship in 1993 and setting out to conquer the US motor-sport market next. So it was no surprise that the 400 hp PTG M3 subsequently won the IMSA title in 1996.

The really discerning purchaser was able to have his M3 – just like every other BMW – built to his personal wishes, since BMW Individual had been established by Motorsport GmbH in 1992, supplementing the Company’s existing activities. Covering the entire range of BMW models, this specialist company fulfils the most individual wishes and preferences tailor-made to the customer and exceeding the range of “regular” options by far. Demand is particularly great for unusual paintwork or interior equipment, as well as individual features and professional communication electronics. Establishing BMW Individual, Motorsport GmbH once again became a pioneer in the market, also opening up the door to more individual style in the automotive world, one might say as the supreme standard of customer orientation.

With this new line of business developing and expanding at a breath-taking pace, the Company had to be adjusted once again: It required a new name covering the entire scope of operations, since a customer wishing to have his car individualised by BMW Individual or taking part in BMW Driver Training did not find what he was looking for under the existing name “Motorsport GmbH”. So what could have been better than that legendary letter M, defined within the Company as the “most powerful letter in the world”? Since 1 August 1993, therefore, the former Motorsport GmbH has been BMW M GmbH.

In 1995, the best-selling BMW M3 received even more power in a far-reaching process of evolution. And this extra power – 321 hp from 3.2 litres, more than 100 hp per litre – set a new benchmark for the competition and ­was also accompanied by extra torque. Double VANOS variable timing was also used for the first time, the advanced system with continuously variable timing of the intake and exhaust camshafts. Another feature was the introduction of a six-speed manual gearbox as the standard for conveying drive power to the rear wheels.

A world-first achievement in transmission technology: SMG.

As far as transmission was concerned, BMW M GmbH became the first car maker in the world to introduce the Sequential M Gearbox (SMG), offering this unique technology in the M3. Based on the conventional M3 gearbox, SMG activates the clutch electrohydraulically when changing gears. So from now on the driver of the M3 no longer had to press down the clutch pedal, but was able to shift gears instantaneously simply by pulling or pushing the gear lever up and down one level. While some drivers were a bit sceptical about this new technology at the beginning, SMG soon boomed in the market, almost every other BMW M3 being fitted with this type of SMG gearbox by the time production came to an end.

Also in 1995, another engine with M Power scored an outstanding triumph: This was the big six-litre 12-cylinder based on the 750i engine powering the closed-top McLaren sports car to victory in the 24 Hour Race at Le Mans. Four-valve technology, a titanium crankshaft and an aluminium clutch helped to give the V12 maximum output of more than 600 hp. Once again it was an engine designed and built by Paul Rosche, who created the FI together with McLaren director Gordon Murray as the ultimate road-going sports car.

A few years later in 1999, BMW celebrated the greatest success with this power unit, the BMW V12 bringing home overall victory at the legendary 24 Hour Race in Le Mans.

By this time, however, the engine was no longer a product of M GmbH. BMW Motorsport Ltd was established in the United Kingdom in late 1995, taking over all of BMW’s motor-sport activities. Since then M GmbH has concentrated on the three areas of BMW M Cars, BMW Individual and BMW Driver Training.

The muscle twins: M roadster and M coupé.

The next sports car boasting that symbolic M at the rear entered the market soon after in 1997: The M roadster starring as the Ultimate Driving Machine in every respect is more than “just” a thrilling combination of the Z3 roadster with the 321 hp power unit of the M3. For at the time this unique muscle machine was also the highlight within the BMW roadster line-up. And the M coupé following shortly after the M roadster is a thoroughbred sports car of the highest standard, again featuring the M3 power unit and based on the M roadster, but with its own very special character. Indeed, the M coupé combines supreme agility and dynamic driving performance in a body offering not only driving pleasure, but also practical advantages in everyday motoring. Two golf bags, for example, fit easily into the attractively styled rear compartment.

1998: The M5 with its 400 hp 8-cylinder.

In 1998 the engineers of BMW M GmbH introduced the third generation of the BMW M5, opening up an entirely new dimension of driving dynamics in this part of the market. Naturally, understatement was once again the name of the game in creating this high-performance top model within the successful 5 Series. This is precisely why only the connoisseur can tell the new M5 from outside, focusing on the redesigned front skirt with its extra-large air scoop, the wide light-alloy wheels and the four tailpipes already well-known from the M roadster and M coupé.

For the first time the heart of the M5 is an all-new 8-cylinder offering the ultimate in power and torque: Maximum output is around 300 kW (400 hp) and torque peaks at around 500 Nm (369 lb-ft). And like its predecessor, the new M5 again features an ultra-precise and smooth six-speed manual gearbox.

2000: Entry of the third M3 in exciting new design.

Over the years the engineers at BMW M have set the standard not only in engine technology, but also with the chassis and suspension, for example on the third-generation M3. Making its debut in the year 2000, the M3 featured the compound brakes, with floating brake disks combining the advantages of better heat dissipation and a longer service life than regular systems. This new BMW M3 offered a bit more of everything: more power, more performance, more unique style. In simple facts and figures, this means 343 hp, 365 Nm (269 lb-ft) and acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds. And contrary to its predecessor, the new M3 once again expressed its outstanding performance and driving qualities more clearly through truly exciting design. Nothing had changed about the M3’s ability to cope with everyday road-going situations. It remained a high-performance automobile which once again took on the lead role in its class thanks to the combination of outstanding characteristics.

One year later, the M3 took off its road-going suit and donned racing overalls. The M3 GTR lined up on the starting grid of the American Le Mans Series with a four-litre eight-cylinder under the bonnet for the first time. The racing car with the characteristic air scoops in the bonnet and the powerful rear aerofoil proved superior on the race tracks of the USA and won the Championship in the GT Class – an appropriate prize to celebrate the 30th birthday of M GmbH in 2002.

2003: The resurrection of the CSL.

Celebration in true BMW style: With the development of a very special car, the M3 CSL. The three letters represented “Coupé Sport Lightweight” and this essentially said it all. Roof, centre console and door panels were made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, the rear window was lighter, and numerous features providing creature comforts were simply eliminated. Powered by the engine tuned to 360 hp, the CSL was a superb performer on the tightest corners and provided impressive testimony to this ability. On test runs, the car went round the North Loop of the Nürburgring in 7:50 minutes, which was an outstanding time for a vehicle in this class. In 2003, the CSL was launched on the marketplace and all 1,383 cars had been sold within the space of a few months.  

Meanwhile, the M3 GTR was consigned to the pits and no longer permitted to race – the US regulations had been changed.

Yet the 3 Series powered by an eight-cylinder engine was far too young and competitive to be put out to grass. It was modified and made ready for endurance races on the Nürburgring. And the success was impressive. In 2004, the M3 GTR celebrated a spectacular one-two victory in the 24 Hour Race at the Eifel – and repeated the feat a second time in the following year.

2004: The ten-cylinder M5 and M6.

At the latest since the turn of the millennium, not a year has passed without an M automobile making headlines. In autumn 2004, the new M5 was making waves after its predecessor broke through the barrier of 20,000 vehicles manufactured. This most aristocratic 5 Series car was the most powerful ever built: five litres displacement, ten cylinders, 507 hp power, 520 Nm (384 lb-ft) torque, and engine revs beyond the 8,000 barrier. These statistics highlighted the separation between the car for road-going use and the car for ambitious racing in a way that had never before been witnessed.

The performance values of the fourth-generation M5 once again defined the benchmark in the segment for powerful sports saloons. Power was increased by more than 25 percent compared with its eight-cylinder predecessor – the M5 exceeded the magic mark of 100 hp per litre. Its specific power was therefore at the level of motor sport. The interplay of the V10 engine and the seven-speed SMG permitted performances that far exceeded those of other series saloons. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h took just 4.7 seconds and the speedo needle hit the 200 km/h (124 mph) mark after around 15 seconds. The electronic limiter generally cut out at a speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).

The M6 followed just months later with the same power unit. The chassis could be adjusted at the touch of a button, and like the M3 CSL the big coupé had a roof made of carbon fibre. Naturally, the M6 could also race faster than the factory-limited 250 km/h (155 mph). BMW therefore offered an increase in top speed accompanied by driver training on a closed track.

In 2006, M GmbH expanded its portfolio to include the new sports-car generation – the BMW Z4. The Z4 M roadster and the Z4 M coupé were fitted with the formidable 343 hp six-cylinder engine from the M3, which powered the two-seater up to 250 km/h (155 mph).

A dozen works racing cars were created on the basis of the coupé. They were powered by a six-cylinder tuned to 430 hp and they generally drove the competition into the ground. Eleven out of the 16 races in the VLN Endurance Racing Championship Nürburgring went to the Z4 coupés in 2009 and 2010. Since 2010, the successor has been known as the Z4 GT3, a racing version of the current Z4 Roadster with a 4.4-litre eight-cylinder for motor-sport customers.

2007: The first BMW M3 with eight cylinders.

After 15 years, in 2007 a new engine in the new M3 generation replaced the outstanding straight six-cylinder engine that had won the “Engine of the Year” award several times. An eight-cylinder engine was fitted for the first time in the coupé and the saloon launched shortly afterwards. The new V8 engine generated power of 420 hp from a displacement of 3,999 cubic centimetres. Around 85 percent of the maximum torque of 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) could be called up over the enormous rev range of 6,500 rpm. Power was transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a completely new rear-axle differential. Particularly in the coupé, the design engineers once again used lightweight construction. The positive experiences with other M models led to the roof also being made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and the engine bonnet was made of aluminium. 

Three decades after production of the first series model was launched, BMW M GmbH supplied the 300,000th vehicle in 2008. The vehicle portfolio of BMW M GmbH had meanwhile expanded to nine models. The automobiles were powered by engines that derived their unique characteristics from the high-revving concept: straight six-cylinders with 343 hp in the BMW Z4 M roadster and in the BMW Z4 M coupé, V10 engines with 507 hp in the BMW M5 and the new BMW M5 Touring and in the BMW M6 Coupé and BMW M6 Convertible. M GmbH also posted significant growth in the sale of sports packages which were meanwhile available for the models of the BMW 1 Series, BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series and BMW 6 Series, as well as for the BMW X3 and the BMW X5.

2009: The turbo returns with muscle as the power unit of the future.

This naturally meant that expansion now really started to take off. The high-performance character of automobiles produced by BMW M GmbH was first transferred to the segment of BMW X models with the BMW X5 M and the BMW X6 M in 2009. The development yielded a new V8 high-performance engine whose performance characteristics were precisely tailored to the character of the two models. The 555 hp M TwinPower Turbo was the world’s first power unit featuring an exhaust manifold overarching the cylinder bank and Twin Scroll Twin Turbo technology. The turbocharger and catalytic converters are positioned in the V space between the cylinder banks. This configuration produces the spontaneous response typical of M and delivers linear development as well as permitting uniform torque development.  

That same year, BMW M GmbH developed an extreme athlete based on the BMW M3 Coupé for customers who had particularly demanding requirements for the performance characteristics of their vehicles. This model was also suitable for racing in club sport events. The BMW M3 GTS was produced at the manufacturing facilities of BMW M GmbH exclusively on customer request. The modifications geared to deployment in motor sport comprise the drive and chassis technology, the bodywork and the interior. Design principles and technical details derived directly from motor sport defined the eight-cylinder engine with a displacement expanded to 4.4 litres and power increased to around 450 hp.

Today: Highly charged company for high performances.

At the end of 2010, M GmbH again expanded its product range and presented the 1 Series Coupé, a 340 hp car in the compact class. The straight six-cylinder with M TwinPower Turbo and petrol direct injection had an easy time with the muscular lightweight vehicle. This is obvious with a power-to-weight ratio of just 4.4 kilograms per hp. A few months later, the new M5 came along with a newly developed eight-cylinder turbo packing 560 hp and a top speed of up to 305 km/h (190 mph).

M goes Diesel.

40 years after the foundation stone of today’s M GmbH was laid, the experts in athletic driving turned their minds to a new project – the BMW M Performance Automobile as an expansion of the model range with a clear focus on athletic performance and unrestricted road-going capability as well as outstanding efficiency. The new product category was launched with four models: BMW M550d xDrive Saloon, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d. The heart of these cars was a new straight six-cylinder diesel engine developed with three turbochargers and power of 381 hp exclusively for BMW M Performance Automobiles.

Munich. In August 1985, a rumour surfaced in motor magazine Auto-Deutschland which emanated from a new sports car. An A Group Car from BMW that was a thoroughbred racing car according to the rules but was also to be produced in a version licensed to drive on open roads for everyday use. Speculation about this dream car that could take to normal roads and was intended for the “Most dynamic among BMW 3 Series drivers” was right on target. But the pundits missed the mark about the motor-sport car by a mile on one prediction: They were convinced that anyone who “wants to be a key player in the A Team needs to be turbocharged under the bonnet”. Not true. The BMW M3 had a naturally aspirated engine. And it became the most successful touring car in the history of BMW.

The M3 project was launched just a few months earlier. Production of the M1 mid-engine sports car had already been discontinued for some time and BMW CEO Eberhard Kuenheim commissioned a design for a successor, almost as an aside, according to legend. After one of his regular visits to Motorsport GmbH in Munich’s Preußenstraße he said, almost as he was leaving: “Mr. Rosche, we need a sporty engine for the 3 Series.” His aspiration was in good hands. Motorsport GmbH with its managing director of technical development Paul Rosche had demonstrated its expertise with the legendary 5 Series saloons driven by M engines as well as developing the Formula 1 turbo engine that powered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to win the World Championship in the Brabham BMW in 1983.

Power source: a four-cylinder engine with 2.3 litres displacement and four-valve engineering.

The new 3 Series engine had something in common with this: the crankcase. It originated from volume production and actually formed the basis for the two-litre engine with four cylinders. Four cylinders meant less weight and high torque, an ideal platform for a sports engine in the projected displacement class.  Naturally enough, the series four-cylinder engine was much too tame for a sports engine. A comprehensive power boost was called for in order to turn the plucky daily workhorse into an athletic and sporty power unit. The BMW design engineers increased the displacement to 2.3 litres and applied a formulation that had already achieved significant successes over a period of many years: four-valve engineering. There was also another reason for the decision to opt for a four-cylinder engine and not adopt the six-cylinder engine introduced in the BMW 3 Series. The longer crankshaft in the big engine started to vibrate much earlier than the shorter four-cylinder shaft. The design engineers therefore designed the crankshaft drive of the BMW M3 with sufficient torsional stability to achieve 10,000 revolutions a minute and more. By comparison with the four-cylinder engine installed in the series vehicles, this represented an increase of more than 60 percent.

Paul Rosche recalls: “We started work immediately. One advantage was that the big six-cylinder engine originally had the same cylinder gap as the four-cylinder engine. We therefore cut two combustion chambers off the four-cylinder head of the M88 and bolted a panel over the hole on the rear side.” This meant that the new four-cylinder engine had a second forebear. The six-cylinder engine that had initially created a sensation in the M1 and had meanwhile transformed the M635CSi into one of the fastest coupés in the world. Paul Rosche: “Whether you believe it or not – we had created an outstanding four-cylinder engine for the 3 Series within the space of two weeks. Under the development name S14, this engine was to generate headlines in sport and in volume production over the years to come. One Sunday, I drove to von Kuenheim’s flat and gave him the car for a test drive. When he came back he said: ‘Good, I like it.’ And that’s how the M3 came into being.”

Contrary to the situation with the mid-engine sports car, the BMW M3 was not going to be crafted by hand in small batches. This car was to be produced as a mass-production automobile on an assembly line. It was destined to compete in near-production touring car motor sport, or more precisely as a Group A racing car, defined as a “production car”, of which at least 5,000 units have to be built within the space of twelve consecutive months in accordance with Annex J of the international automobile sport regulations.

300 hp for competitive racing.

However, many of them immediately disappeared again into garages and workshops to be given a new outfit. After all, the M3 had been designed as a racing car, and this was the time to prove that it really could “race”. A World Touring Car Championship was held for the first time in 1987. And that was exactly what the M3 had been built for. But not quite in the guise in which it was seen on the streets. Instead of 200 hp, the 2.3 litre engine delivered up to 300 hp at 8,200 rpm in the racing version. This put it on a par with the BMW M635CSi. BMW didn’t line up on the starting grid with its own team but supported a number of famous racing outfits like Schnitzer, Linder, Zackspeed and Bigazzi. Drivers like Markus Oestreich, Christian Danner, Roberto Ravaglia and Wilfried Vogt took the wheel, and Annette Meeuvissen and Mercedes Stermitz were the first women drivers.

Roberto Ravaglia in the M3: first World Touring Car Champion.

The first race for the 1987 World Touring Car Championship started in Monza on 22 March 1987 – and ended with a sensation. All the M3 cars were excluded from the placings. The vehicles were checked under chaotic conditions and disqualified because of sheet-metal thicknesses that were allegedly contrary to the regulations. BMW appealed but the sports tribunal decided that the appeal had been lodged too late. There was no longer any talk of infringements of the rules. All the brouhaha naturally didn’t have any effect on the result of the championship. At the end of the season, Roberto Ravaglia was standing on the podium as the first World Touring Car Champion. But that was only the pinnacle of the success list. Wilfried Vogt took the title of European Champion. Altfried Heger came in second – both driving a BMW M3. In 1987, the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) also went to the new BMW M3, with Eric van de Poele behind the wheel. Moreover, the most sporty 3 Series car was also winning competitions off the race track. An M3 crossed the finishing line in first place in the Corsica Rally and secured a victory for BMW after a gap of 14 years in a race for the World Rally Championship.

24 Hour Race: M3 one-two victory on the Nürburgring.

In 1988, the BMW M3 continued the success story and took the national titles in France, England and Spain. In the following year came another victory in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), this time with Roberto Ravaglia in the driver’s seat, alongside wins at the national championships in Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the displacement had been increased to 320 hp and the BMW M3 drove the competition into the ground. Belgian driver Marc Duez battled his way through the Monte Carlo Rally with an M3 and took eighth place as best driver in a car without a four-wheel drive.  The sensational one-two victory in the 24-hour classic on the Nürburgring crowned this series of successes in 1989 with the driver combinations Pirro/Ravaglia/Giroix and Heger/Grohs/Manthey.

Playing with displacement: the right engine for each race.

The M3 had a commanding presence on the international touring car racing scene for five years. It became the most successful touring car of all times by winning the two champion’s titles in the European Touring Car Championship and twice in the German Touring Car Championship. There were also numerous further victories and championship wins at international level. Depending on the competition rules, the four-valve engine had to be adapted to national regulations. For example, the capacity for England was limited to 2 litres while for Germany and France it was raised to 2.5 litres with effect from 1990. This enabled the four-cylinder to deliver up to 355 hp. In the version with the biggest capacity, the engineers of BMW M GmbH went up against the limits of what was feasible. In order to make full use of the 2.5 litre limit, they not only increased the stroke of the 2.3 litre unit from 84 to 87 millimetres, but also increased the cylinder bore from 94 millimetres to 95.5 millimetres. This reduced the width between the cylinders to just 4.5 millimetres. But success proved the development engineers right. The engines withstood the stresses and strains of touring-car racing even at maximum output without any problem.

1992: the first BMW M3 with a six-cylinder engine.

The year 1992 saw the birth of a completely new M3, this time with an advanced six-cylinder engine. Once again, Motorsport GmbH developed a version for competition in record time.  In April 1993, the new M3 was due to line up at the start of the first race for the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). But due to discrepancies in the new regulations, BMW changed its strategy and instead set up a BMW M3 GTR in the striking design of a starting flag and entered the Warsteiner ADAC GT Cup organised by the German Automobile Association. The six-cylinder now generated 325 hp, the car weighed 1300 kilos in accordance with the regulations. A strong BMW team lined up at the start with Johnny Cecotto and Kris Nissen, and Cecotto ended up taking the championship at the end of the season. However, this was the end of the motor-sport chapter for this M3 GTR for the time being. Changes in the regulations meant that the potent 3 Series had no realistic changes of victory any more.

The BMW M3 GTR: the most powerful M3 ever.

BMW only returned to motor sport as a works team with a BMW M3 seven years later. In 2001, the first starting flag came down for the new BMW M3 GTR powered by a 450 hp V8 engine. The most powerful M3 ever set benchmarks in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with its four-litre engine and raced in a quartet: Team BMW Motorsport entered two cars under the management of Charly Lamm and two other cars were raced by the American BMW Team PTG run by Tom Milner, who hailed originally from Germany. The coupé took seven victories in ten races, six of them were from pole positions. BMW works driver Jörg Müller won the driver’s championship in the GT Class, BMW Motorsport won the team placings, and BMW became constructors’ champion in the company’s most important export market.

But the advanced BMW M3 GTR also caused a sensation in Europe. Two each of these eight-cylinder racing cars lined up at the start of the 24 Hour Race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and on the Nürburgring in 2004 and 2005.The result: In both years, BWM took a one-two victory on the Nürburgring, and class victory went to BMW in Spa in 2004.

In 2009, the next generation of the M3 started in the American Le Mans Series. The V8 engine was beefed up to 485 hp and entered the Twelve Hour Race at Sebring for the first time.  The successes meant that the M3 was also raced in Europe in the following year. It lined up at the start of the 24 Hour Race on the Nürburgring, in Le Mans and in Spa-Francorchamps. The result: outright victory on the Nürburgring – for the 19th time – and class victory in Spa.

And the next winner will soon be on the starting line in 2012. BMW will be back at the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) with three teams and the new BMW M3 DTM.

The anticipation began in August 1985. That summer Germany’s automobile magazines built up their readers’ expectations for the fastest 3 Series BMW of all times. The key data revealed a sports car that would punch way above its class: 200 hp, top speed in excess of 230 km/h, sprint from a standing start to 100 km/h inside 6.7 seconds. However, the story was that “the most dynamic BMW 3 Series drivers” would have to wait until mid-1986. The pundits were right on that count. But one prediction missed the mark by a mile: anyone who “wants to be in the A Team needs to be turbocharged under the bonnet”. Not true.

The BMW M3 became the most successful touring car in motor-sport history. The M3 project was launched just a few months earlier. Production of the M1 mid-engine sports car had already been discontinued for some time and BMW CEO Eberhard Kuenheim commissioned a design for a successor, almost as an aside, according to legend. After one of his regular visits to Motorsport GmbH in Munich’s Preußenstraße he said, almost as he was leaving: “Mr. Rosche, we need a sporty engine for the 3 Series.” His aspiration was in good hands. Motorsport GmbH with its managing director of technical development Paul Rosche had demonstrated its expertise with the legendary 5 Series saloons driven by M engines as well as developing the Formula 1 turbo engine that powered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to win the World Championship in the Brabham BMW in 1983.

The new 3 Series engine had something in common with this: the crankcase. It originated from volume production and actually formed the basis for the two-litre engine with four cylinders. Four cylinders meant less weight and high torque, an ideal platform for a sports engine in the projected displacement class. Naturally enough, the series four-cylinder engine was much too tame for a sports engine. A comprehensive power boost was called for in order to turn the plucky daily workhorse into an athletic and sporty power unit. The BMW design engineers increased the displacement to 2.3 litres and applied a formulation that had already achieved significant successes over a period of many years: four-valve engineering. There was also another reason for the decision to opt for a four-cylinder engine and not adopt the six-cylinder engine introduced in the BMW 3 Series. The longer crankshaft in the big engine started to vibrate much earlier than the shorter four-cylinder shaft. The design engineers therefore designed the crankshaft drive of the BMW M3 with sufficient torsional stability to achieve 10,000 revolutions a minute and more. By comparison with the four-cylinder engine installed in the series vehicles, this represented an increase of more than 60 percent. The rated speed for the road version of the BMW M3 was still significantly below the critical range at 6,750/min and therefore offered sufficient scope for further developments.

Paul Rosche recalls: “We started work immediately. One advantage was that the big six-cylinder engine originally had the same cylinder gap as the four-cylinder engine. We therefore cut two combustion chambers off the four-cylinder head of the M88 and bolted a panel over the hole on the rear side.” This meant that the new four-cylinder engine had a second forebear. The six-cylinder engine that had initially created a sensation in the M1 and had meanwhile transformed the M635CSi into one of the fastest coupés in the world. Paul Rosche: “Whether you believe it or not – we had created an outstanding four-cylinder engine for the 3 Series within the space of two weeks. Under the development name S14, this engine was to generate headlines in sport and in volume production over the years to come. One Sunday, I drove to von Kuenheim’s flat and gave him the car for a test drive. When he came back he said: ‘Good, I like it.’ And that’s how the M3 came into being." 

BMW Motorrad anniversary: 30 years of GS.

Contents.

1. 1980 – entering a new era in motorcycles................................................ 2

2. Serial winners............................................................................................ 8

3. GS models for the third millennium............................................................. 21

Munich. The star came in pure white: When the 64th Paris Motor Show opened its
gates in autumn 1978, sports car fans and lovers had only one destination - the
stand of BMW Motorsport GmbH. There they were able to admire a super-low,
extremely dynamic new model making it quite clear at very first sight that this
was Germany's fastest road-going sports car: the BMW M1, 1,140 millimetres
(44.9'' ) high, 204 kW (277 bhp) strong, and well over
260 km/h (160 mph) fast. "Everybody was crowding around BMW's new mid-engined
sports car", wrote the press. And: "The list of orders coming in exceeds even
the wildest expectations - an American fan of BMW, just to mention one example,
has already put in an order for three M1s." That was indeed quite something,
considering that BMW's super-sports car had a price-tag back then in 1978 of
exactly DM 100,000, enough for four BMW 323is plus
a couple of optional extras.
It is indeed fair to say that few cars have ever been expected with such
excitement and anticipation as the BMW M1 representing all of BMW's know-how in
motor racing. Project E 26, as the then still nameless M1 was initially called
within the Company, had started in 1976. This was to be the first really unique
car built by BMW Motorsport GmbH, BMW's motor racing subsidiary established in
1972. Having already made a great name for itself in the international racing
scene with the fast BMW 2002 and the truly superior BMW 3.0 CSI, the racing
company now planned to lift this success to an even higher level with a
competition car specially built and prepared for the Group four and five racing
series.
According to Group four regulations at the time, a car qualifying for entry
required a production run of at least 400 units in 24 successive months, it had
to have two seats and bear a distinct resemblance from outside with its
production counterpart. And that made it quite clear that the E26 h ad to be
not only a thoroughbred racing car, but also a street-legal sports car.

A Bavarian with Italian blood.
The problem was that BMW Motorsport GmbH totally lacked the capacity to develop
and build such a car all by itself. After all, this team of specialists had
concentrated so far on "simply" turning series-production cars into racing
cars, making the chassis and suspension tauter and the engine more powerful.
In its lines and design, the new coupé was intended to clearly boast that
special Italian style. It was modelled around the gull-wing turbo, a
turbocharged concept car created in 1972 by BMW designer Paul Bracq. Proceeding
from this design study with its rounder lines, Giorgio Giugiaro created the
sharp profile of the M1 with its distinct, almost jagged edges and corners.
Indeed, Bracq and Giugiaro had already cooperated in the past in creating the
BMW 6 Series coupé.

First choice in the engine department: a straight-six power unit.
Choosing the engine, BMW Motorsport GmbH initially focused on two concepts:
Advance studies of Formula engines had led, inter alia, to a ten-cylinder
code-named the M81, a V-engine with its cylinders at an angle of 144°. Suitably
modified, this engine was also examined for its possible use in a sports car.
But then the team around BMW's Motorsport Director Jochen Neerpasch quickly
opted in favour of a new straight-six, an engine concept supported by the
excellent experience BMW had gained in the CSI races. After all kinds of
rumours with the grapevine running wild, BMW unveiled the secret in spring
1977, officially confirming the development of the new super-sports car. Then,
in autumn of the same year, BMW published the first photos of the M1 in
production trim, the car then making its first public appearance again half a
year later: Together with TV presenter Dieter Kürten, Jochen Neerpasch proudly
introduced the Group four version in the colours of Motorsport GmbH in a
prime-time Saturday evening sports programme on Channel Two of German
Television. And although this racing machine bearing starter number eleven was
not yet ready to go, the first test drives were scheduled for April 1978.

277 bhp in a purebred sports car.
The big day finally came in autumn of the same year, the public being able to
admire the first E26 at the Paris Motor Show. By that time the car bore the
model designation M1 standing for the first car developed and built by BMW
Motorsport GmbH.
Measuring 4,360 millimetres (171.7'' ) in length, 1,824 millimetres (71.8'' )
in width and 1,140 millimetres (44.9'' ) in "height", the M1 exuded a genuine
flair of power. And indeed, this mid-engined sports car was driven by a
3.5-litre straight-six fitted lengthwise in front of the rear axle and
developing maximum output of 277 bhp. Code-named the M88, this engine was based
on the volume-production six-cylinder combined with the four-valve cylinder
head carried over from BMW's CSI racing engines. Within this two-piece cylinder
head, the lower section formed the combustion and coolant chamber, the upper
half comprised the camshaft bearings and cup tappets.
The fuel/air mixture was delivered through three double throttle butterfly
manifolds featuring six 46-millimetre individual throttle butterflies to the
cylinders through two intake ducts per cylinder measuring 26 millimetres
(1.02'' ) in diameter. The all-electronic digital ignition system also
reflected the latest state of the art.
Dry sump lubrication bore clear testimony to the sporting genes of the M1, the
car being able to achieve a very high level of lateral acceleration. Fuel was
supplied to the engine from two tanks right and left in front of the rear axle,
each with a capacity of 58 litres (12.8 Imp gals). From the engine power was
transmitted through a ZF five-speed gearbox connected to the engine by a
two-plate dry clutch. The final drive differential came as standard with 40 per
cent locking action.

264.7 km/h (164.1 mph): Germany's fastest sports car.
The six-cylinder power unit was smooth and free of vibrations throughout its
entire range of engine speed, even remaining quite docile at lower speeds. But
this changed instantaneously once the rev counter hit 5,000 rpm, the M88
pushing the M1 forwards up to its top engine speed of 7,000 rpm with power and
energy making even the most jaded car testers wax lyrical: "Once the throttle
butterflies are fully open you feel a tremendous kick from behind continuing
well beyond the 200 km/h-mark. There is no need to shift to fifth gear, for
example, until you reach a speed of 213 km/h (132 mph) and from there you
continue to accelerate up and up to the car's top speed." Which, as recorded by
Germany's leading car magazine in autumn 1979, was 264.7 km/h (164.1 mph).
Acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds also looked very good, which is not
surprising considering the power-to-weight ratio of 4,7 kg/PS, making things
relatively easy for the 204 kW (277 bhp) engine.
The M1 was conceived and built for racing right from the start, the elaborate
suspension with double wishbones on each wheel, gas-pressure dampers and two
anti-roll bars remaining in command throughout the car's entire speed range.
With the exception of the more comfort-oriented response of the moving parts
and the modified spring/damper setting, the road suspension was identical to
the chassis and suspension on the Group four racing version. Four inner-vented
brake discs ensured phenomenal stopping power from any speed and the front axle
came with 30 per cent anti-dive minimising body movement even when applying the
brakes all-out. Tyres measuring 205/50 VR 16 at the front and 225/50 VR 16 at
the rear, finally, were certainly very big and muscular in those days.
A low centre of gravity of just 460 millimetres (18.5'' ) above the road, track
measuring 1,550 mm (61.02'' ) at the front and 1,576 mm (62.04'' ) at the rear,
together with the mid-engined concept providing weight distribution of
44.1:55.9, made the M1 a genuine performer in bends, even though the car called
for an experienced driver when pushed to the limit. Typical of a mid-engined
performance car with a low level of inertia around its vertical axis, the M1
required quick and forceful counter steering as soon as lateral acceleration
exceeded a reasonable limit and the rear threatened to break away. But the
rack-and-pinion steering without power assistance and with a direct
transmission ratio was simply perfect for this kind of control. Displaced
castor and a small steering roll radius served at the same time to combine ease
of control with supreme road contact absolutely essential for the active
driver. The twin-joint safety steering column, in turn, was adjustable for
reach.

A racing car with crash-proven passive safety.
Although the M1 was a sports car par excellence, both the driver and passenger
enjoyed a certain standard of comfort. For whilst the suspension was firm and
taut, it nevertheless absorbed bumps on the road without requiring the
occupants to take any heavy jolts. Indeed, the driver and passenger were safely
cocooned in a rectangular steel-profile space-frame complete with a bonded and
riveted plastic skin free of distortion. The luggage compartment beneath the
front lid was sufficient for a weekend for two, and even air conditioning was
available. And the BMW M1 was safe: Since the new sports car received general
homologation for the entire production series (as opposed to individual
approval of each single model one-by-one), BMW was required to substantiate the
passive safety of the M1 in a series of crash tests - a precaution which later
benefitted many a racing driver.
But whilst the public was admiring the new super-sports car from Munich, with
orders coming in one after the other, production of the M1 suffered a nasty
setback: Lamborghini was unable to assemble the new car as planned and the
order instead had to go to Baur, the coach-building specialist in Stuttgart.
This made the M1 a genuine challenge in the production process with the
space-frame being built by Marchesi, the glass-fibre-reinforced plastic body
shell by T.I.R., both in the Italian town of Modena, and Giorgio Giugiaro's
company ItalDesign assembling these two basic units and adding the interior
trim and equipment. From there the car went to Stuttgart, where Baur fitted all
the mechanical systems and components.

A big attraction in Formula 1: the Procar Series.
Facing these delays and re-planning requirements, BMW suddenly became hard
pressed for time. After all, 400 units of the new car had to be built within 24
months for homologation as a Group four competition car. And other companies
were also pressing forward. So to get the M1 on to the race track faster,
Motorsport GmbH Director Jochen Neerpasch, teaming up with Bernie Ecclestone
and Max Mosley, launched the Procar Series, with races held just before most of
the European Formula 1 Grand Prix events in the 1979/80 season.
The big difference versus the road going car was the engine of the Procar
racing version: The first step for motor racing was to tune the M88
six-cylinder the classic, conventional way, with new camshafts, larger valves,
forged pistons, optimised flow ducts, slides instead of throttle butterflies
and a modified exhaust system boosting output to 470-490 bhp. With this kind of
power, the Procar version weighing just 1,020 kilos and fitted with the longest
transmission ratio had a top speed of approximately 310 km/h (192 mph).
Goodyear racing tyres measuring 10.0/23.5 x 16 at the front and 12.5/25.0 x 16
at the rear, together with a mighty rear wing, served to provide the right kind
of grip on the road. Driving one of these Group four BMW M1s, Marc Surer lapped
the Northern Circuit of Nurburgring in just 7,55.9 minutes.
Built to Group four regulations, the M1 was not only placed at the disposal of
five Formula 1 drivers in each race for the Procar Trophy, but was also sold
straight from the factory as BMW Motorsport GmbH's first ready-to-go racing car
at a price of DM 150,000. And indeed, some of the most renowned racing teams
quickly took up this offer, Schnitzer and Heidegger racing their own M1s on the
track, just like Osella in Italy and Ron Dennis in Great Britain.

Putting up a unique show for the crowd:
Driving skill was the decisive factor.
Benefitting from this combination of BMW M1s prepared for racing by Motorsport
GmbH and those entered by private teams, and with the cars driven by the big
names in Formula 1 as well as ambitious racing drivers in other categories, the
Procar Series gained unique popularity. This is where the world's best drivers
faced the old hands and newcomers in the scene, comparing their skills with
cars virtually identical in every respect. The crucial factor, therefore, was
driving skill - and this really caught the attention of the crowd: The Procar
races proved just as popular as the ensuing races for the Formula 1 World
Championship.
The recipe for success was perfectly prepared. The fastest five Formula 1
drivers in the Friday practice sessions were placed against 15 touring car
specialists. With the Procar races being held on the Saturday, the first five
places on the grid went to the stars, the remaining places were shared by the
touring car cracks lined up according to their practice times. And they all
joined in: Drivers and racing teams were happy to participate in the Procar
Series, provided they were not barred from doing so by their contracts.

"Maybe I was so fast because I just wanted to drive a BMW."
This is why on 12 May 1979, the Saturday before the Belgian Grand Prix in
Zolder, the two fastest drivers in practice were unable to take their seats in
the M1: Gilles Villeneuve and Jean-Pierre Jabouille had exclusive contracts
with other car manufacturers. But Jacques Laffite, the third-fastest driver in
the practice sessions, was just as happy to start his engine in BMW's
mid-engined Gran Tourisme as Clay Regazzoni, the reigning World Champion Mario
Andretti, as well as Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet.
Nelson, later to become Formula 1 World Champion with Brabham BMW and at the
time No. 2 in the Brabham Team after Niki Lauda, was unable to anticipate his
great career back then when he said, grinning: "Maybe I was so fast because I
just wanted to drive a BMW."
But Nelson's competitors also had great names and a great reputation:
Hans-Joachim Stuck, who a day later came eighth in the Grand Prix racing for
the German ATS Team, the then reigning Formula 2 European Champion Bruno
Giacomelli, BMW Motorsport drivers Toine Hezemans and Dieter Quester, as well
as Elio de Angelis, another star in Formula 1. And when the lights switched to
green in this truly outstanding line-up of Procar drivers, Hans-Joachim Stuck
and young Austrian star Markus Höttinger pulled away from the rest of the grid
after just a few laps. But in lap twelve the two of them got a little too close
for comfort and ended up in the fences. So to quote a report on the race
summing up the 20 laps, "Italian driver Elio de Angelis proved to be the
superman in the first M1 race, not only winning the event, but also completing
the fastest lap. And this was after starting from 15th place and ploughing his
way through the entire field." Second place went to Toine Hezemans, Clay
Regazzoni finished third.

The Procar Champions: Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet.
Ultimately, however, the initial results started to change in the course of the
Procar season, Niki Lauda, already two-times Formula 1 World Champion back
then, scoring the largest number of points by the end of the season: In eight
races in the M1 Procar Series, Niki scored three wins and finished second in
one race. So whilst Hans-Joachim Stuck was able to bring home victory in the
last two races, he ended up five points behind Lauda when the season finished.
Only Clay Regazzoni held on to his third place until the end of the season.
Winning the last three races in the 1980 series, Nelson Piquet brought home
overall victory in Procar racing a year later, followed by Alan Jones and
Hans-Joachim Stuck. And maybe this was no coincidence, since Alan Jones, later
to become Formula 1 World Champion, was a dedicated fan of the M1, anyway,
being one of the first customers to buy this sports car for private use.
These spectacular events more or less marked the end of the M1 in Group four
racing for a simple reason: The M1 was only homologated for racing on 1 April
1981 and the regulations were changed just nine months later, making it
virtually impossible for the M1 to compete any more.

Boosted by up to 1,000 horsepower:
Group five M1 with biturbo power unit.
Even the success of the M1 in Group five was unable to match the overwhelming
Procar Series. Group five was for special production cars derived from cars
homologated in other racing categories - and that was virtually the only
restriction. The first M1s to enter Group five were powered by
normal-aspiration engines developing maximum output of almost 500 bhp. To cope
with engine torque of up to 800 Newton-meters or not quite 600 lb-ft, these
cars featured a Hewland FG 400 five-speed gearbox, with locking action on the
final drive ranging from 75-100 per cent, depending on the racetrack. Later,
the engines of the Group five M1 were boosted up to 1,000 bhp by two
turbochargers. And to get as much of this huge power on to the road as
possible, the body of the car was modified by all kinds of spoilers turning the
M1 into real "wing monsters". This was also when Team Schnitzer, the leading
BMW tuning specialist, turned a Group five M1 into the then most powerful
racing car in the German Motor Racing Championship, using a kevlar body on a
specially reinforced chassis. With this kind of power, Hans-Joachim Stuck came
home first on both Nürburgring and Salzburgring.

The IMSA GTO Champion in the USA: BMW M1.
1981 was a spectacular year of success for the M1 in the USA. Any driver
wishing to play an important role at the time in the popular IMSA GTO
Championship simply had to drive BMW's mid-engined coupé. After forming the Red
Lobster Team, Dave Cowart and Kenper Miller finished the season first and
second, naturally both at the wheel of a BMW M1. Indeed, the white M1 with
starter number 25 won twelve out of 16 races in the Championship. Only one
driver among the top ten in the 1981 Championship drove another car, not BMW's
mid-engined coupé. And the driver finishing seventh, incidentally, was US
racing legend Al Unser jr.,
naturally at the wheel of an M1.

Presenting art on fast wheels: M1 Art Car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The M1 was not only an outstanding racing and sports car, but also an equally
unique work of art. In 1979 world-famous pop art idol Andy Warhol tried his
hand on a ready-to-race M1 coupé, using his brush and paint to turn the M1 into
one of the fastest works of art in the world.
This was BMW's fourth Art Car, a series of artistic achievements based on
various BMW models. Warhol was the first artist to paint the body of the car
directly with powerful swipes of his brush: "But the car is better than the
art", Warhol said himself afterwards in a rather dry comment.
Boasting starter number 76, the BMW M1 Art Car subsequently struggled for the
title in Le Mans throughout the whole 24 hours, ultimately finishing the race
sixth.

Transplanting the M1 six-cylinder into production cars:
the M5 and M 635 CSi.
Production of the M1 ended in 1981 after a production run of 445 units, 399 for
the road and 46 in Procar trim. But the heart of the M1, the M88 six-cylinder
24-valve power unit, was far too good to retire from the scene. In particular,
it was much too progressive, powerful and superior. So in 1984 Motorsport GmbH
once again hit the headlines, making aficionados of high-performance cars wax
lyrical once again when the 255 km/h (158 mph) M 635 CSi coupé and the M5
brought back the M1's fast-revving power machine.
Particularly the hand-built M5 quickly became a real legend: This was truly a
wolf in sheep's clothing, with maximum output of 286 bhp almost three times as
powerful as the 518i. And whilst at first sight it almost looked the same as
its large-volume counterpart, top speed of 245 km/h (152 mph) quickly captured
the attention and admiration of countless owners of large saloons and sports
cars having to give way to the M5 on the Autobahn even with the gas pedal
pushed right down to the floor. Not surprisingly, therefore, this marked the
birth of the "Businessman's Express".

Specifications BMW M1 - production model.

Engine Water-cooled straight-six in mid-engine
arrangement Four
valves per cylinder, two
overhead cam-shaft with double roller chain drive
Capacity (cc) 3,453
Stroke (mm/in) 84/3.31
Bore (mm/in) 93.4/3.68
Max output (kW/bhp) 204/277 at 6,500 at rpm
Max torque (Nm/lb-ft) 330/243 at 5,000 at rpm
Max engine speed (rpm) 7,000
Mean piston speed at max output (m/sec) 17.4
Compression ratio 9:1
Fuel supply Kugelfischer system mechanical fuel injection
three double
throttle butterfly manifolds
with six throttle butterflies, dia 46
mm
Fuel grade (RON) 98
Fuel tank capacity (ltr.) (2 x 58) 116
Lubrication Pressure-circuit lubrication with
dry sump oil system Triple
suction pump next to crankcase,
pressure pump in the oil
sump

Electrical system.

Battery voltage (V) 12
Battery output (Ah) 55
Alternator 14 V/65 A
Ignition Magneti-Marelli contact-free,
all-electronic digital ignition
system controlled by the
flywheel
Spark plugs Bosch x 4 CS

Chassis and suspension.

Frame Spaceframe with plastic body
Front axle Double track control arm (wishbone)
with light-alloy wheel
mounts Independent suspension
Rear axle Double track control arm (trapezoid
arm at the bottom) with
light-alloy wheel mounts
Independent suspension
Dampers/springs Bilstein gas pressure dampers Concentric coil
springs
adjustable for height
Anti-roll bar dia (mm/in) front 23/0.91
rear 19/0.75
Brakes Inner-vented fixed-calliper disc brakes
in two-circuit system
with brake servo pressure
reducer on the rear axle
Brake disc dia(mm/in) front 300/11 rear 297/11.69
Brake disc width (mm/in) front 32/1.26 rear 26/1.02
Swept brake area (cm²) front 96/wheel rear 69/wheel
Parking brake Operated mechanically, acting on separate brake
callipers
on the rear axle
Steering Rack-and-pinion steering, two-joint
safety steering column
adjustable for reach
Steering wheel dia (mm/in) 360/14.2
Wheels Cast light-alloy wheels
front 7'' x 16''
rear 8'' x 16''
Tyres Pirelli P7
front 205/55 VR 16
rear 225/50 VR 16

Power transmission.

Clutch F + S hydraulically operated,
double-disc dry clutch
Gearbox ZF five-speed manual gearbox
with integrated final drive
Transmission ratios,
manual gearbox:
1st 2.42
2nd 1.61
3rd 1.14
4th 0.846
5th 0.704
Reverse 2.86
Final drive 4.22

Dimensions (mm/in).

Wheelbase 2,560/100.8
Track, front 1,550/61.0
Track, rear 1,576/62.0
Length 4,360/171.7
Width 1,824/71.8
Height, unladen 1,140/44.9
Ground clearance, laden 125/4.9
Turning circle 13,000/512

Technical Description BMW M1 Group four.
Grand Tourisme based on international motorsport regulations.
Grand Tourisme cars are built in a small series and must have at least two
seats. They may be improved and modified in the interest of enhanced
performance. The modifications allowed for this purpose are specified in detail
in the International Motorsport Regulations.
In their looks and appearance, Group four cars bear a close resemblance to the
production model.

Engine.
Six-cylinder in-line power unit, water-cooled, four valves per cylinder,
mechanical fuel injection, dry sump lubrication, oil cooler at the front end of
the car, 94 mm/3.70'' bore, 84 mm/3.31'' stroke, 3,500 cc capacity, max output
345 kW (470 bhp) at 9,000 rpm, max torque 390 Nm (287 lb-ft) at 7,000 rpm.

Power transmission.
Hydraulically operated double-plate clutch, ZF five-speed gearbox,
differential and gearbox cooling system.

Chassis and suspension.
Double track control arms on the front and rear axles, magnesium wheel mounts,
aluminium wheel hubs with central bolt, Bilstein dampers with bolted spring
plates, anti-roll bars front and rear, exchangeable and adjustable,
ATE brake system, swing callipers and vented discs front and rear, twin master
brake cylinders, brake forces adjustable while driving, rims 11.0 x 16 at the
front, 12.5 x 16 at the rear, tyres 10.0/23.5 x 16 at the front, 12.5/25.0 x 16
at the rear, rack-and-pinion steering with direct transmission ratio.

Technical Description BMW M1 Group five.
Special production car based on international motorsport regulations.
Special production cars do not require a minimum production volume, but must be
derived from cars homologated in Groups one, two, three or four. All
modifications allowed on Group one to four cars as well as additional Group
five modifications are admissible, as specified by the International Motorsport
Regulations.
Greater freedom in the shape and dimensions of the flared wheel arches as well
as the use of aerodynamic improvements front and rear significantly change the
looks of the body.
Beneath the body shell the manufacturer is able to choose and configure the
various systems (engine, transmission, suspension, brakes) with hardly any
restrictions.
The Group five BMW M1 features a 3.2-litre six-cylinder 24-valve power unit
with an exhaust gas turbocharger developing up to 850 bhp at 9,000 rpm. Boost
pressure is between 1.2 and 1.4 atmosphere.
The Group five version benefits from technical optimisation of all units and
systems. The car's final specifications will be published at a later date.

Pictures of BMW M1 you will find under https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en

1. Twenty Years of the BMW M3 - a Legend in Sports. (Short Version) 2 2. The Birth of a Sports Legend. 5 3. The Successor: Six Cylinders for Ongoing Success. 13 4. Continuing the Success Story: The Third-Generation BMW M3. 19 5. The BMW M3 - a Spearhead in Innovation. 28 6. The BMW M3 Models. 32

It is one of the most successful chapters in the history of the automobile and
in international motorsport alike: the story of the BMW M3 - and to this day,
the end of this unique success story is not even in sight.
In 2006 BMW and BMW M GmbH celebrated the 20th birthday of the most successful
touring car of all times. Within two decades, three generations of the BMW M3
have successfully entered and conquered both the market and the race track,
each of these models quite unique and legendary in its own right. Dominating
the racing scene and paving the way on the road for a new species of
particularly sporting, but nevertheless highly practical series-production cars
fully suited for everyday use, the BMW M3 to this day thrills a loyal and
constantly growing group of enthusiasts and aficionados the world over.

This unique story of success started back in 1986 with the launch of the first
BMW M3 based on the E30 version of the BMW 3 Series. From the start, this
thoroughbred sports car thrilled not only the motorsport enthusiast and the
racing expert, but also car fans the world over. Boasting powerful-looking
spoilers and strikingly flared wheel arches all round, the very first BMW M3
was a sensation to behold even at a standstill. And although the road-going
version offered all the everyday driving qualities required of a modern car,
the real home of the BMW M3 was the race track. Powered by a four-cylinder
featuring avantgarde four-valve technology, the BMW M3 brought home one victory
after the other.

Originally conceived for just 5,000 units for the purpose of homologation, this
very first BMW M3 gained growing popularity right from the start.
And apart from the car's convincing concept, an ongoing increase in engine
power from 195 hp all the way to 238 hp added to the car's fascinating thrill.
Total production up to the end of the car's production cycle in 1991 amounted
to almost 18,000 units including the BMW M3 Convertible. Subsequently, the two
following generations significantly exceeded even this remarkable sales figure,
the second generation of the BMW M3 based on the E36 model series accounting
for a sales volume of almost 72,000 units, and the third generation based on
the E46 model series achieving an even more impressive production run of over
85,000 units.

Precisely this success confirms the strategy of BMW M GmbH to convey the
qualities of superior motorsport machines right through to series production.
After three generations and more than 174, 000 units sold, production of the
E46-based BMW M3 ended in 2006 - only to be continued in 2007 with the fourth
generation carrying on this exceptional story of success.
The successor to a legend.
Based on the coupé version of the E36 model series, the second generation of
the BMW M3 made its appearance in 1992. At first sight this model looked quite
"normal", without any large spoilers or striking wheel arches - but just one
glimpse into the engine bay told another story, with this being the first BMW
M3 to feature a six-cylinder power unit.

Developing maximum torque of 320 Newton-metres or 236 lb-ft all the way from 3,
600 to 6, 000 rpm, together with maximum output of 286 hp, this outstanding
sports car offered the driver superior acceleration at all times and in every
situation. Indeed, BMW's engineers were able to achieve these performance
figures quite unusual at the time through painstaking attention to detail and
with a number of innovative solutions: Apart from VANOS variable camshaft
management and the upgraded single throttle butterfly control unit, newly
developed engine electronics able to process more than 20 million instructions
per second helped to give the engine its enormous power and performance.

Catering for growing demand for a four-door model, the second generation of the
BMW M3 was also built in saloon guise, in addition to the coupé and convertible
versions. And the success of all three models was overwhelming, almost 72, 000
units of all three body variants leaving BMW's Regensburg Plant throughout
seven years of production. These were joined by another 700 units built as
completely knocked down (CKD) kits at BMW's Rosslyn Plant in South Africa.

The BMW M3 saga goes on.
Towards the end of the year 2000, the latest and still current version of the
BMW M3 entered the market as the next generation. Based on the E46 model series
coupé, this version of the BMW M3 again combines supreme performance,
exceptional driving qualities and unique design, clearly distinguishing the car
from other models in the BMW 3 Series.
Particularly the front section of the current BMW M3 supporting the engine
compartment lid made of aluminium looks flatter and more aggressive than on
every other regular production BMW 3 Series. And beneath the engine compartment
lid with its striking powerdome lurks one of the most significant innovations
introduced in this model - the new, even more powerful six-cylinder engine
developing maximum output of 252 kW/343 hp and applying the high-speed engine
concept carried over from Formula 1 and now so characteristic of all cars built
by BMW M GmbH: When revving at a speed of 8,000 rpm, the pistons in the new M3
power unit move up and down at a velocity of more than 20 metres or 66 feet a
second, thus reaching a new dimension for a car of this class.

The BMW M3 CSL was also based on this model. Boasting an even more powerful
engine, developing 265 kW/360 hp and featuring radical lightweight technology
using the most advanced materials such as carbonfibre-reinforced plastics and
carbon, the BMW M3 CSL has a power-to-weight ratio of 3.85 kg/hp - a truly
outstanding figure which raises this BMW M3 to an entirely new dimension of
dynamic performance.

Still, the fact remains that yet another model stands out as the fastest and
most expensive of all BMW M3s built so far - the BMW M3 GTR presented to the
public in 2001 for the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Indeed, this truly
unique car was a genuine eye-catcher from the start not only through its
muscular look, but also and in particular through its 4.0-litre
V8 high-performance power unit developing 330 kW/460 hp in racing trim and,
respectively, 258 kW/350 hp in the road-going version.

This supreme sports car set the standard also in another respect, its price
of approximately Euro 250,000 making it a truly exclusive offer.