Touring Cars
Since the pre-war BMW 328 model, BMW had a reputation for sporty production cars. The expensive V8-powered BMW 503 and BMW 507 of the 1950s could not add much to this reputation, unlike the small motorcycle-engine powered BMW 700 which e.g. was driven by Hans Stuck to German championships in hillclimbing.
Since the 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class in 1961, BMW has become one of the most successful marques in Touring car racing. The original 1500 cc 4-cylinder BMW M10 engine block was modified to a four-valve design which won championships in Formula 2. Equipped with a turbocharger, the version BMW M12/13 even won the 1983 Formula One championship.
In the 1970s, BMW M GmbH was formed to support the racing efforts. This led to the development of the BMW M1 and in the 1980s to the BMW M3. Having won more road races than any other model in history, the E30 M3 is the world's most successful road race car. Its success was emulated during the 1990s when the 318i and 320i won several touring car national championships (including the BTCC, French Supertouring Championship, Super Tourenwagen Cup and Italian Superturismo) during the Supertouring era.
Read more about this topic: BMW In Motorsport
Famous quotes containing the word cars:
“I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)