BMW M3 DTM Concept

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BMW M3 DTM Concept Car (2011) first official pictures

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

18 July 2011 10:30

This is BMW’s M3 DTM Concept Car, a taster of the near-500bhp racer that will compete in the 2012 DTM (German Touring Car) series. Unveiled at BMW Welt in Munich, it signals BMW's return to the DTM after a two-decade absence; between 1987 and 1992, the BMW M3 won 40 races and had over 150 podium finishes in Germany's premier tin-top series.

Does this new BMW M3 DTM car bear any resemblance to a road-going M3?

Not really, although the new 2012 DTM regulations demand that all cars must use a certain number of standard parts – it’s one of the reasons BMW has re-entered the series. The M3 DTM concept features a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic monocoque (CFRP) with a steel roll cage, a six-speed sequential gearbox, and as per DTM regulations, a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8. With air restrictors in place, the eight-cylinder engine produces around 480bhp, and BMW reckons its new M3 racer will hit 62mph in around three seconds and top 186mph.

BMW Motorsport also claims it has been able to ‘call upon the immense technical resources of the BMW Group and apply their innovation to establish performance advantages over their rivals in areas such as engine and aerodynamics’. Massive rear wing notwithstanding, the DTM-spec M3 is 160mm longer than the road car (at 4775mm), those ridiculously blistered wheelarches up the width from 1804mm to 1950mm, and depending on the ride height set-up at each circuit, it’s a mere 1200mm tall (1424mm for the street legal car).