A new chapter in BMW’s DTM history was written this weekend, when the Munich-based company revealed its new model that will be going up against the usual rivals from Mercedes and Audi.
The 2014 Championship will be the first one that won’t be having an M3 Coupe at the starting line. The M4 DTM will take its place on this competition too, as it already has in all other aspects.
The new car is somewhat the coronation of extensive work from the Motorsport division that started almost a year ago, well before there were any rumors of replacing the iconic M3 Coupe in the German competition.
In such championships, every small detail matters and one of the main elements that had to be carefully monitored was the weight. The M4 DTM tips the scale at just 1,110 (2,447 lbs) with the driver on-board, thanks to its ultra lightweight construction due to the extensive usage of CFRP and aluminum.
The new P66 engine used is now making 480 BHP and 500 Nm of torque due to the technical regulations of the competition but is capable of even more. Around 800 different components make up the heart of the car. However, unlike the production car’s S55 unit that has 3 liters of displacement and an inline 6-cylinder configuration, this one is a V8 that has to be both extremely powerful and reliable as all the BMW teams are allowed to use just 10 engines over the entire season, split between 8 cars.
Even so, the know-how of all the Motorsport division was used to make sure there won’t be any problems over the entire competition. The cast parts, for example, are coated and given the necessary heat treatment within the appropriate departments in Munich while the cylinder heads and crankcase are just the same as on the production model.
Thanks to a sequential six-speed gearbox operated using shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel, the car reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in about 3 seconds. What’s more interesting about this gearbox is that it has 11 final drive ratios, allowing the engineers to fine tune it to perform to the max on every track.
“For me, the BMW M4 DTM is an absolute highlight. Like its production counterpart, it looks fantastic and it also made a positive first impression at our tests. Unlike when we were developing the BMW M3 DTM for our return to the DTM in 2012, this time around we were able to call upon the wealth of experience gained over the last two seasons,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director.
The first appearance in an official competition for the new car will take place on the Hockenheim Ring on May 4th, in the first race of the 2014 DTM Championship. Until then, the cars will be testing on the Hungaroring in Budapest between March 31st - April 3rd and on the Hockenheim between April 14th - 17th.
Of course, as it was the case every year, the 8 M4 DTM cars for this year will be introduced in a formal ceremony at the BMW Welt Museum in Munich, on April 25th.
The new car is somewhat the coronation of extensive work from the Motorsport division that started almost a year ago, well before there were any rumors of replacing the iconic M3 Coupe in the German competition.
In such championships, every small detail matters and one of the main elements that had to be carefully monitored was the weight. The M4 DTM tips the scale at just 1,110 (2,447 lbs) with the driver on-board, thanks to its ultra lightweight construction due to the extensive usage of CFRP and aluminum.
The new P66 engine used is now making 480 BHP and 500 Nm of torque due to the technical regulations of the competition but is capable of even more. Around 800 different components make up the heart of the car. However, unlike the production car’s S55 unit that has 3 liters of displacement and an inline 6-cylinder configuration, this one is a V8 that has to be both extremely powerful and reliable as all the BMW teams are allowed to use just 10 engines over the entire season, split between 8 cars.
Even so, the know-how of all the Motorsport division was used to make sure there won’t be any problems over the entire competition. The cast parts, for example, are coated and given the necessary heat treatment within the appropriate departments in Munich while the cylinder heads and crankcase are just the same as on the production model.
Thanks to a sequential six-speed gearbox operated using shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel, the car reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in about 3 seconds. What’s more interesting about this gearbox is that it has 11 final drive ratios, allowing the engineers to fine tune it to perform to the max on every track.
“For me, the BMW M4 DTM is an absolute highlight. Like its production counterpart, it looks fantastic and it also made a positive first impression at our tests. Unlike when we were developing the BMW M3 DTM for our return to the DTM in 2012, this time around we were able to call upon the wealth of experience gained over the last two seasons,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director.
The first appearance in an official competition for the new car will take place on the Hockenheim Ring on May 4th, in the first race of the 2014 DTM Championship. Until then, the cars will be testing on the Hungaroring in Budapest between March 31st - April 3rd and on the Hockenheim between April 14th - 17th.
Of course, as it was the case every year, the 8 M4 DTM cars for this year will be introduced in a formal ceremony at the BMW Welt Museum in Munich, on April 25th.
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