Photo: BMW
DTM dates back to 1976, and the 2019 season of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters kicks off at the beginning of May without Mercedes-AMG. Also surprising is that Aston Martin has accepted the challenge, the first non-German entry since Alfa Romeo in 1996.
Gary Paffett took the championship for Mercedes-AMG, but on this occasion, BMW celebrates 50 years of motorsport success by detailing the P48 power unit in the M4 DTM in comparison to the M121 from half a century ago. The Bavarians won the European Touring Car Championship with Dieter Quester and the 2002 TI in 1969.
First of all, the M121 is the first turbocharged BMW engine developed for motor racing. Fast-forward to the present, and the P48 is “more than 50 percent more efficient.” This goes to show what five decades of motorsport can do in terms of research and development.
High-pressure fuel injection and “lean-burn mode” help the engine in the M4 DTM be as good as possible without breaking the regulations. The auxiliary units such as the starter and generator are not fitted to the engine, but on the transaxle gearbox behind it. The plenum chamber, on the other hand, utilizes CFRP instead of the aluminum weld-and-cast construction from the good ol’ days.
BMW makes a case for “exceptionally good consumption” of the P48, and you shouldn’t be laughing right now. Similar to Formula 1, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters limits fuel flow. Drivers exceeding the limit during a race are excluded from the race results.
By comparison, BMW engineers had to find performance however possible without increasing the displacement of the M121. This is how BMW started to turbocharge their cars and racing cars, and the 2002 TI is much obliged to hit 240 km/h (149 mph) thanks to forced induction.
Class 1 regulations in DTM replace the previous V8 engines with four-cylinder turbo powerplants. In the case of the M4 DTM, the P48 weighs in at 85 kilograms ( pounds), an exceptional achievement considering that BMW managed to half the displacement while finding more power and superior efficiency.
First of all, the M121 is the first turbocharged BMW engine developed for motor racing. Fast-forward to the present, and the P48 is “more than 50 percent more efficient.” This goes to show what five decades of motorsport can do in terms of research and development.
High-pressure fuel injection and “lean-burn mode” help the engine in the M4 DTM be as good as possible without breaking the regulations. The auxiliary units such as the starter and generator are not fitted to the engine, but on the transaxle gearbox behind it. The plenum chamber, on the other hand, utilizes CFRP instead of the aluminum weld-and-cast construction from the good ol’ days.
BMW makes a case for “exceptionally good consumption” of the P48, and you shouldn’t be laughing right now. Similar to Formula 1, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters limits fuel flow. Drivers exceeding the limit during a race are excluded from the race results.
By comparison, BMW engineers had to find performance however possible without increasing the displacement of the M121. This is how BMW started to turbocharge their cars and racing cars, and the 2002 TI is much obliged to hit 240 km/h (149 mph) thanks to forced induction.
Class 1 regulations in DTM replace the previous V8 engines with four-cylinder turbo powerplants. In the case of the M4 DTM, the P48 weighs in at 85 kilograms ( pounds), an exceptional achievement considering that BMW managed to half the displacement while finding more power and superior efficiency.
Google News