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 From S-badged Audis to factory AMG specials from Mercedes-Benz to
V-rated Cadillacs to F-tuned Lexuses, it seems every luxury automaker
has some sort of sporting division now to create hotter models. While
this competition is all pretty hot these days, the first to have such an
entity in house was BMW, which started BMW Motorsport GmbH as a
separate subsidiary in May 1972.
Today, it goes by the simple name of BMW M, its tri-color logo and
signature M tacked onto the hood of some of the fastest sedans and SUVs
on the road. But the division started not as a way to sharpen street
cars but as a way to consolidate the various motorsports efforts under
one flag.
Their successes on the track are legion: absolute dominance in Formula 2
in the 1970s and 1980s with a 16-valve version of the 2002′s famous M10
four-cylinder engine; European Touring Car titles earned in 1973 and
consecutively from 1975 through 1979 with the 3.0CSL "Batmobile"; IMSA
GT title in 1975, including a win at the Sebring 12 Hours; an overall
win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1976; touring car dominance again in
the late 1980s and early 1990s with the box-flared M3 which nabbed
titles in World, European and German (DTM) series. The division was
renamed BMW M in 1993 with a focus on creating roadgoing cars only. Soon
after they formed BMW Motorsport Ltd. to concentrate the racing
efforts. More titles followed, including overall wins at Le Mans in 1995
and 1999 with BMW-powered vehicles; various GT titles in the late 1990s
in the United States with the second-generation M3; a handful of F1
victories with Williams in the early 2000s and one, lone victory as an
engine and chassis manufacturer in F1 in 2008 before they pulled the
plug to concentrate on ALMS and touring car racing.
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