T I D B I T S    F E A T U R E
July 2001
By Jason Ang
Photos Courtesy of BMW
Originally Published July 2001 Issue

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When Ralf Schumacher held aloft the winner’s trophy in Imola, after the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix, it marked the return to the highest level of one of the icons of motorsport, BMW. 

BMW’s racing heritage began with the 328—not the recent saloon but the 1940 roadster with the kilometric hood held in place by a pair of leather straps, and in front, of course, the twin-kidney grille.  In that year the 328 challenged a gaggle of Italian cars to take the Mille Miglia, literally a thousand miles of racing across Italy.  A pair of 328s won 1-2 in their class, thus beginning the sporting heritage of BMW.  Another tradition was also born: the 328s were powered by inline-6 engines. 

Racing, as well as the BMW car factory, ground to a halt during World War 2, but BMW resumed its production soon after and returned in due time to motor sports.  In the 1960s BMW raced the 2000Ti, the first touring car to lap the infamous Nordschleife, the original Nurburgring, in under 10 minutes.  Touring car competition continued to be popular into the 1970s, and BMW made sure its 3.0 CSL regularly gave the Porsche 911s a run for their money. 

BMW roared into the 1980s through the German Touring Car (DTM) races.  The 635, seen as Cybill Shepherd’s car in Moonlighting, soon gave way to the lighter and faster M3.  That M3 was truly a product of motorsport, essentially a detuned race car, produced to fulfill the requirement that 1000 units of road car be built alongside the racing model.  The M3’s 2.5 liter inline-4 generated 355 horsepower in race trim, and was capable of sustaining 10,000 rpm on race tracks. 

The German racing outfit soon took on the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula One, in 1982.   Engine designer Paul Rosche took the engine block from the 1500 road car (displacing 1.5 liters), added a 16-valve head and a huge turbo to produce 630 bhp, about 20% higher than competing 3.0-liter normally-aspirated engines.  When the engine proved reliable, Rosche and his team kept boosting the pressure, until the unbelievably strong engine block’s output approached 1400 bhp!   Nelson Piquet became F1’s first turbocharged champion, with the unbreakable BMW engine.

The sleek looking 328 was the beginning of BMW's sporting heritage by winning the Mille Miglia against some well-known Italian competitors.

This simple looking car is the famed 3.0 CSL and it gave Porsche 911 a difficult time in the 1970s.

The company's success continued well into the 1980s with it's lightweight M3 sports sedan that can sustain 10,000 rpm and pump out 355 bhp from a 2.5-liter inline-4.

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