BMW Motorsport History

Touring Car Racing

European Touring Car Championship (ETCC)

• BMW 3.0 CSL (1973-1979) — "Batmobile" dominated Group 2
• Lightweight coupe with aerodynamic additions
• Won 6 European Touring Car Championships

DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft)

• E30 M3 (1987-1992) — dominated Group A touring car racing
• Won the DTM championship multiple times
• The reason the E30 M3 exists (homologation special)
• E36/E46 320i — competed in Super Touring
• BMW returned to DTM in 2012 with the M3 DTM (E92-based)
• M4 DTM (2014-2020)

BTCC (British Touring Car Championship)

• BMW 320si dominated BTCC in the 2000s
• Multiple championships

Formula 1

Brabham-BMW (1982-1987)

• BMW supplied turbocharged M12/13 engines to Brabham
• Based on the M10 road car engine block (!)
• Produced over 1,000 hp in qualifying trim
• Nelson Piquet won the 1983 World Championship
• First turbo engine to win the F1 championship

BMW Sauber F1 (2006-2009)

• BMW purchased a stake in Sauber
• Robert Kubica won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix
• BMW's only F1 victory as a constructor
• Withdrew from F1 after 2009 due to financial crisis

BMW Engine Supply

• Supplied engines to Williams F1 (2000-2005)
• P84/P85 V10 engines
• Multiple race wins
• Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher as drivers

Endurance Racing

Le Mans

• BMW V12 LMR won the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans overall
• BMW's only overall Le Mans victory
• Driven by Yannick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini, and Joachim Winkelhock

IMSA / ALMS

• BMW M8 GTE competed in IMSA
• BMW M4 GT3 currently competes worldwide
• Multiple class victories at Daytona and Sebring

GT Racing

• BMW M6 GT3 — successful customer racing car
• BMW M4 GT3 — current generation GT3 car
• BMW M4 GT4 — entry-level GT racing
• Nürburgring 24 Hours — BMW has won multiple times

Art Cars

BMW's Art Car project (1975-present) commissions artists to paint BMW race cars:

• Alexander Calder — 3.0 CSL (1975)
• Andy Warhol — M1 (1979) — the most famous
• Roy Lichtenstein — 320i (1977)
• Jeff Koons — M3 GT2 (2010)
• 19 art cars created to date

BMW's motorsport heritage is deep and varied — from touring cars to F1 to Le Mans, the brand has competed and won at the highest levels.