BMW M3 DTM concept

... just two weeks after the official roll-out of the new racing car for the 2012 DTM season.

It marks the comeback of a racing legend, the BMW M3 which celebrated 40 wins and more than 150 podium finishes in the series between 1987 and 1992.

BMW Motorsport has been developing the DTM version of the car since last year when the Board of Management announced the company's return to DTM.

The powerful V8 engine equipped with the air restrictor as detailed in the technical regulations generates about 360kW of power.

The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about three seconds and boasts a top speed of about 300km/h.

The DTM regulations for the 2012 season stipulate all cars must use a certain number of standard components.

This is to guarantee that development costs remain reasonable and are considerably lower than in other top motorsport categories.

Despite this, the BMW Motorsport engineers have been able to call upon the immense technical resources of the BMW Group and apply their innovation to establish performance advantages over their rivals in areas such as engine and aerodynamics.