Germany’s Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters racing series, better known as DTM, pits the best touring cars from German brands against one another in high-speed, no-holds-barred road racing to crown the ultimate motorsport champion. For 2012, that champion is Bruno Spengler and his BMW M3 DTM car, carrying on a long tradition of motorsport wins for BMW’s M division. In a perfect trifecta, BMW also took home the car and manufacturer overall titles.
The M3 DTM car was totally redesigned for the 2012 season, sporting the same 4.0-liter V8 as the 2013 BMW M3 you can buy right now, but retuned to make 480 horsepower and sporting a 6-speed sequential manual gearbox with pneumatic paddle shifters. Spengler was neck-and-neck with Mercedes-Benz driver Gary Paffett heading into the season finale race, then took the overall title after beating second-place Paffett by 2.2 seconds.
To commemorate the victorious 2012 season, BMW is offering a limited-production DTM Champion Edition M3 car, set to go on sale in February including a race day driver training package at Germany’s Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Here’s a video detailing the illustrious history of the BMW M3 in touring car racing, and plenty of on-track footage from the victorious 2012 season!
BMW M GmbH engineers are clearly still hard at work tuning and refining the next-generation 2014 BMW M3, with this latest set of spy photos snapped during high-speed tests at Germany’s famed Nürburgring race circuit. To our relief, the M3 will return to inline-six power, likely with three turbochargers making around 450 horsepower, and will be officially unveiled in “concept” form at next year’s Geneva Motor Show.
With its late 2013 release date, the next M3 sedan will precede the coupe and convertible models to market by at least a few months.
Few cars on the road have the capability to stir the soul like the BMW M3. The perfect blend of everyday practicality and true sports car performance, the M3 pushes the envelope with each new generation. The car you see here is the next-gen model, caught hot weather testing in Death Valley, California by the eagle-eyed spy photographers at CAR Magazine. Despite some dizzying camo, you can clearly make out the deep-set intakes, prominent hood bulge, quad-exit exhaust, widened stance and huge brakes that signify all things M.
The next M3 will return to six-cylinder power with an all-new mill displacing around 3.3 liters and likely featuring three turbochargers for 414-450 horsepower. Other than RWD performance and the presence of manual and DSG gearboxes, that’s about all we know. Look for BMW’s latest and greatest in showrooms in late 2013 or early 2014.
Looking for your BMW M3 with the ultimate in Ultimate Driving Machine performance, and extreme exclusivity to go with it? BMW has you covered with the 2013 BMW M3 Lime Rock Park Edition. Priced from $70,195 plus destination, this very special M3 has been created to celebrate the legendary Lime Rock Park racing circuit in Connecticut, the site of countless BMW triumphs.
The folks at M-Power start with the 414-horsepower “standard” 2013 M3 Coupe, raid the performance catalog for its best available features, then top it all off with exclusive exterior and interior upgrades.
BMW will begin Lime Rock Park Edition deliveries in September, but you’d better get that down payment ready now: only 200 examples will be built.
Industry sources have revealed that unlike every M3 before it, the next-generation M3 will debut in sedan form rather than as a two-door coupe. Indeed the M3 sedan is reportedly the only version there will be at all. No, BMW hasn’t lost its mind. The new 3-Series coupe and convertible models and their two-door M successors will be renamed the 4-Series and M4, respectively.
This brings up an interesting question about release dates. BMW will likely release the 4-Series at the end of 2012 or in early 2013, around a year after the new 3-Series sedan. Is it possible the new M3 sedan will see the light of day around the same time, rather than at the end of 2013 or in early 2014 as first expected? We’ll keep you posted.
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