BMW's Progressive Return to the Track
BMW has a storied past in racing: since its inception, the Bavarian automaker has been boasting about the on-track performance of their cars, stating they were unbeatable on track… and for a while, they were right. The legendary E30 M3 built between 1985 and 1992 was dominating in pretty much every single race it entered, and the 2009 M3 E92 GT2 continued in this lineage.
However, the last years weren’t as kind to the manufacturer. The last Formula 1 car to bear the BMW badge was in 2009, while its latest entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was in 2011.
This is why BMW wants to make a comeback to the racing scene. In 2018, they will return to Le Mans in the GTE category, where they will compete against some well-established names, like the Ford GT, the Corvette C7.R and the Porsche 911 GTE.
The automaker also announced they signed a partnership with Andretti Formula E. For the next two seasons, BMW will help the team build electric single-seater race cars by sharing its technology and experience in racing. If the series picks up steam, they might even consider starting their own team.