BMW of North America 40th anniversary special: M to Z

ABOVE: RLL's Z4s (ABOVE) were in the thick
of the TUDOR Championship's GT LM title fight.

The BMW M3 has one of the most storied histories in motorsports, so when the time came to prepare a fourth generation of the car for North American competition, it had to be capable of following in some big tire tracks.

The M3 Coupe that spearheaded BMW's return to the American Le Mans Series in the late 2000s (LEFT) with Rahal Letterman Racing (now RLL) proved entirely worthy.

"It was a very good car," recalls team principal Bobby Rahal. "As you'd expect from BMW Motorsport, it was really well done."

Although BMW was winding down its Formula 1 program, the fourth-generation M3 street car was able to take full advantage of the technology transfer, including an engine block cast in the same foundry as its grand prix counterparts. That DNA carried over to the M3 Coupe GT racer, which benefited from BMW's F1 computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel capabilities to optimize its aerodynamic performance.

The car's potential began to reveal itself over the balance of its 2009 debut season, including a class win at Road America and a podium at the grueling Petit Le Mans season-closer.

A GT Teams' and Manufacturers' Championship double in 2010 was followed a year later by a sweep of the Teams', Manufacturers' and Drivers' crowns for Joey Hand and Dirk Muller. A class 1-2 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the world's toughest endurance races, was thrown in for good measure.

"Our expectations were exceeded, to be honest," Rahal says. "We thought it was going to take a little longer than it did to be truly competitive. But there were tracks that the car was good at right from the start, plus it had great reliability, and we had excellent drivers."

"That 2011 season and winning the GT Drivers’ Championship was all about capitalizing on opportunities," recalles Hand (RIGHT). "In ’09 and ’10, the M3 Coupe was getting stronger and more reliable, and the team was already really good on strategy with Bobby Rahal and Scott Roembke, so it was just a matter of taking the car to its limits and doing the right things.

“We hit on all cylinders. Dirk Muller and I got along really well; we were a good combination of two different-style drivers. And we were both very consistent – we didn’t make mistakes and got everything out of the car.

“It was a huge year that ended up changing my career path. That same year, BMW announced it was going to race in the DTM again, and after I had such a big season, they offered me a test, for fun. But it went really well, and I ended up becoming the first American to race in the DTM."

The arrival of the current GTE-spec Z4 for the start of 2013 was precipitated by a pause in production of the road-going M3. The Z4 roadster is a different animal to its predecessor, and required a correspondingly different approach in order to be honed for the racetrack.

"The Z4 presented different challenges for BMW and for us," says Rahal. "Very short wheel base, kind of draggy, especially in the beginning – there were a number of challenges that we very quickly got a grip on.

"In GT racing, you're always fighting with the BoP [Balance of Performance], too," he adds. "That's always the dance, and some days the dance is to your music, and some days it isn't."

The Z4's nimbleness and superior handling makes it a benchmark on the tighter, twistier tracks of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, but BMW's strong suits may change again with the arrival of the more slippery, longer-wheelbase M6 which is currently being developed as its GT weapon of choice for next year.

Meanwhile, BMW and RLL are in the throes of a close and exciting battle for 2015 TUDOR Championship GT Le Mans class honors as they seek to give the Z4 a send-off appropriate to its heritage.

A nod to the Past, Future

Coming full circle 40 years after winning the 12 Hours of Sebring with a 3.0 CSL, BMW recently unveiled the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage concept car.

More than just a design concept that reimagines an icon of the past, the 3.0 CSL Hommage offers a raft of innovations that could make their way to BMW production cars in the not too distant future. A new 3-liter, straight six engine with electrically-aided turbocharger, and extensive use of light and strong high-tech composites are two such examples.

"Our Hommage cars not only demonstrate how proud we are of our heritage, but also how important the past can be in determining our future," says Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president, BMW Group Design.