BMW and Audi announced they will contest the 2012 German Touring Car Championship with new racecars — BMW with the M3 DTM and Audi with the A5 DTM. Both cars will make their public debuts in September at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, where they are likely to be joined by Mercedes-Benz with its own new DTM car.
The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) not only will adopt new rules in 2012, but it will cross the Atlantic in 2013, where an American edition of the DTM will be staged in cooperation with NASCAR.
BMW is returning to DTM in 2012 after a 20-year absence with a special racing version of the M3, developed by BMW Motorsport. The automaker released few details on the new M3 DTM, which BMW describes as a concept, other than to say the racecar will be equipped with a "powerful V8" that will deliver around 475 horsepower. The M3 DTM will accelerate from zero to 60 in around 3.0 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph.
Audi is replacing its successful A4 DTM racecar with a new model based on the A5. Concept sketches of the 2012 A5 DTM, which is being developed by Audi Sport under the code name R17, show a lower, wider car with a large rear wing. Audi is adapting the 456-hp V8 and six-speed gearbox from its current A4 DTM to the new A5 racecar.
The new DTM regulations for 2012 are aimed at improving the safety of the cars and keeping development costs within reason.
They mandate high-strength carbon-fiber monocoques and steel tube cages, with fuel tanks integrated into the monocoque to reduce fire risk in impacts.-insideline.com
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