BMW has lifted the
veil off its new BTCC contender for the 2019 season, the 330i M Sport. BMW will field three cars in the
2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship and they will be driven by
three-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington, Tom Oliphant, and Andrew Jordan. Based on the G20 3 Series road
car, the BTCC racer replaces the 1 Series in the championship, where it will go
up against rivals such as the Honda Civic Type R, Ford Focus RS, Vauxhall
Astra, Mercedes A-Class, Audi S3, Toyota Corolla, MG6, Subaru Levorg, and VW
CC.
Obviously, it’s not the first time a 3 Series races
in the BTCC. BMW’s compact sedan was a regular competitor between 1988 and
2009, winning five drivers’ and two manufacturers’ titles during that period.
In 2013, the automaker returned to the BTCC with the 1 Series.
Prepared by West Surrey Racing, the 330i M Sport
adopts two different liveries: the cars driven by Turkington and Oliphant
feature BMW Motorsport’s iconic colors while Jordan’s car features title
sponsor Pirtek’s livery. No specs were revealed, but the standard 330i packs a
turbocharged 2.0-liter turbo-four that makes 255 hp and 400
Nm of torque, enabling a 0-96 km/h sprint of 5.6 seconds.
BMW’s new BTCC racer has had its first full day of
testing on March 27 at the Brands Hatch track alongside all the other cars on
the grid. The racing debut comes next month (April 6/7) at the season opener on
Brands Hatch’s Indy Circuit.
