BMW employees are working on the computer using CAD programs. By means of CAD programs three-dimensional volume models are developed. Out of these volume models, two- or three-dimensional drafts and animated visualizations of the BMW 320si WTCC are arising.

Three-dimensional computer drafts of the BMW P45 engine elements. BMW employee is applying a CAD program.

BMW employees are working on the computer and, using CAD programs, developing the suspension of the BMW 320si WTCC. BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen and the head of the BMW Sports and Touring car technics department, Friedrich Nohl are discussing a draft of the suspension of the BMW 320si WTCC.

According to the construction data, the cables are combined and cottered together to a wiring harness on a bed of nails. BMW employees are testing elecronics.

Extraction of a cylinder head from parts stock. In preparation for the buildup of the BMW P45 engine the cylinder head is cleaned in the, so called, laundry room. Valves are set in the cylinder head. Buildup of the BMW P45 engine.

Serial production of the BMW 3 Series in the BMW Regensburg plant. Racing body manufacturing in the BMW Regensburg plant. Processing of the BMW 320si car body in preparation for the installation of the safety cell. Racing body manufacturing. Adjusting of the safety cell into the car body of the BMW 320si. Racing body manufacturing. Welding of the safety cell into the car body of the BMW 320si. Racing body manufacturing. Marking of the spots of the car body that are still to be processed. Racing body manufacturing. Marked spots the car body of the BMW 320si are processed. Racing body manufacturing. Welding of the “BMW – 320si E90” certificate. Racing body manufacturing. Buildup of the car body of the BMW 320si after the installation of the safety cell. Carriage of the BMW 320si without and with safety cell. Buildup of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 at BMW Motorsport in Munich. Preparation for the installation of the rear window. Installation of the rear window made of the special synthetic material “Makrolon”. Preparation for the installation of the windscreen. Installation of the windshield made of the special synthetic material “Makrolon”. Preparation for the installation of the exhaust pipes. Installation and welding of the exhaust pipes.

Interior shot of the BMW Wind Tunnel. Control station of the BMW Wind Tunnel. The BMW 320si WTCC 2006 in the Wind Tunnel.

Delivery of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006. Preparing the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 for the Pendulum Test Bench. Lifting the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on to the Pendulum Test Bench. Ascertaining the vehicle focal point of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on the Pendulum Test Bench.

Delivery of the BMW P45 engine. Building up the BMW P45 engine on the test bench. Testing the BMW P45 engine of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on the test bench.

Pushing the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on to the Chassis Dynamometer and preparing it for the test run. Examining the mechanical losses of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on the Chassis Dynamometer. Engineers are discussing the results of the test run.

Transportation of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 from BMW Motorsport to the test track. BMW driver Dirk Müller is preparing for the roll-out of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 (the first test drive). Roll-out. Dirk Müller and the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 on the track for the first time. Dirk Müller and the BMW engine engineers are analysing the results of the roll-out.

Andy Priaulx, BMW driver and WTCC World Champion 2005, is testing the new BMW 320si WTCC 2006 for the first time. BMW driver Dirk Müller is testing the BMW 320si WTCC 2006. Installation of the BMW P45 engine. Alessandro Zanardi, driver of the BMW Team Italy-Spain, is welcoming the BMW engineers. Special modifications for Alessandro Zanardi. An engineer is installing a steering wheel ring, the accelerator for Alessandro Zanardi. For Alessandro Zanardi, an engineer is installing a brake pedal on the right and a footrest on the left. With his prostheses on, Alessandro Zanardi is getting into the BMW 320si WTCC 2006. Alessandro Zanardi is testing the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 that is specially converted for him.

Question: After testing the new Touring Car, what do you think about it? Answer: “Fantastic. You always know immediately how good a car is going to be. In the very first one, two, three laps. Straight away I had a great feeling for the car and I felt very excited when I drove it. I think we developed it nicely today and improved the package. And it’s a car that has massive potential. So, the first day was really great for me, to be part of it the very early stages.” Question: Are there any differences between the old and the new Touring Car? Answer: “Yes, I mean, you can always feel differences even between the cars even if they are the same. But I think for me the car has more sponsive, it feels more racy, it is responding very well to changes, and I think that obviously the four-cylinder engine has a massive potential. I miss the sound of the beautiful six-cylinder-engine. But for me the 4-cylinder is small, light and it has more potential, I think, to be a stronger package for touring cars.” Question: Do you like the design of the new Touring Car? Answer: “Oh, this car looks aggressive. I think the E46 is a very pretty car, but now for me the E90 just looks absolutely fantastic. Really aggressive on the track.” (E46 = BMW 320i WTCC 2005; E90 = BMW 320si WTCC 2006)

Question: What do you say about the new Touring Car after the first testing? (in English) Answer: “It has an incredible amount of grip especially in the front. It turns very, very well compared to last year when you always had to wait around the turns before you could finally go back on the power. So it feels much more like a race car compared to last year’s version. And of course it will take time to get everything out of it, but out of the box it’s incredibly fast. That of course is very, very encouraging.” Question: Usually you drive with the BMW Team Italy-Spain. Why are you testing with BMW Team Germany at the moment? (in English) Answer: “I am currently a guest in this garage because BMW Motorsport has offered me to drive the car. I am very grateful to them for the opportunity. But, of course I am feeling like under pressure a little bit. I don’t want to make mistakes, I don’t want to scratch the baby. It’s a little bit of mixed emotions. Of course it’s very exciting to be sitting in the new beast with which we are going to be fighting everyone next year for the championship.” Question: Which design do you like more – the one of the old or of the new Touring Car? (in English) Answer: “I like them both, but of course when I arrived here the other day and I saw both cars in the garage, the car looked to me until yesterday like a very sexy car which lets the old one look like it belongs to the era of the old Romans compared to this one. Technologically this one Is a huge step forward. And also in the look it is quite a big step forward. The details are just taking care of much more and the final result is, that it is better from every point of view. But, nevertheless, the old Baby was a good one, that allowed BMW and its drivers to win a lot of races.” Question: What do you say about the new Touring Car after the first testing? Answer in Italian. Question: Which design do you like more – the one of the old or of the new Touring Car? Answer in Italian.

Delivery of the BMW 320si WTCC 2006 to the BMW Team Schnitzer Motorsport. Dieter and Charly Lamm, BMW Team Schnitzer, eye up the delivery of the racing body. Herbert Schnitzer is unveiling the racing body and eyes up the new BMW 320si WTCC 2006. Preparation for lacquering of the racing body.

Question: You got delivered the Touring Car Kit of the BMW 320si WTCC today. How much work is to do? Answer: For us as a team it is important to see the new development of BMW Motorsport as soon as possible. The drivers have to get in contact with the character of the car, understand how the car responds to changes’ tuning, to changes in the suspensions and in the dampers. It is necessary to understand how good the car interacts with the tyres. It is important for us as a team that this is another BMW race-touring car in a, to us, very long history. Hence it represents continuity. As already mentioned, the car will have its peculiarities, it will demand special processes and we have just to get to know them as soon as possible. Question: Which expectations do you have of the new Touring Car regarding the next season? Answer: A new car is a new beginning. We care for a piece of sports equipment in motor sport that is extremely complicated. This is first of all our job. And, obviously, when you have to do with one racing car for many years, it is obvious, the excitement turns into routine. Now, this step means for us a completely new beginning and we are extremely pleased and excited, we have a lot of expectations and we can simply start again. Hence, we have a lot of expectations and we are highly motivated.

The BMW 320si WTCC 2006 body is lacquered. After lacquering the body is dried with the temperature of 60 degrees.

The BMW 320si WTCC 2006 is ready for bonding. Bonding of the vehicle. The BMW 320si WTCC 2006 after bonding.

Question: Which are the most obvious differences to the successful forerunner BMW 320i? Answer: First of all the new one looks better to me. This is just the new car, the new BMW 3 Series. And it also has better prerequisites, in particular as far as the chassis frame is concerned. The car is wider, the chassis is wider. The drivers said immediately: “The car feels more like a Formula car”, which clearly means much more precise. As a matter of course, this car already proves to be an excellent basis for the touring-car sport. Question: The BMW 320si WTCC is 45mm longer and 36mm wider than the forerunner. Are there any consequences concerning aerodynamics? Answer: Yes, the frontal area in particular, that is height x width, affects the drag. The new BMW 3 Series is wider. This leads to a bigger drag. This has to be counterbalanced through a more suitable form aimed at reducing the drag and here a lot of work has been done. The fact that the car is longer has a positive effect, but this is a secondary aspect. It has been said that we took advantages from this situation, but it is not true. Now we want to show everybody that we are able to master a world championship also with a 4-cylinder engine and that we can play a relevant role. Question: The 6-cylinder-engine embodies BMW. The BMW 320si WTCC is going to start with a 4-cylinder-engine – why and are there any advantages? Answer: It always has been like this, that the concurrence started with 4-cylinder-engines in the 2-litre-class. BMW had always an exceptional position in the World Touring Car Championship, which were eyed critically. They said, that we have prejudices, which did not exist. But now we would like to show everybody, that we also can exist with a 4-cylinder-engine in the World Championship by taking an important role. Question: The WTCC uses close-to-production cars. How much technology can you find in the special edition BMW 320si, that also customers could buy? Answer: The decision concerning the serial model, the 320si, was taken in 2004 and we started working directly after this decision, this means at the beginning of 2005. At the end, we worked on the racing car for one complete year. This means that we significantly accompanied the development of the serial car and we stimulated each other mutually during this process. Question: Which security criteria possess the Touring Car? Answer: To be honest, the BMW 3 Series can be considered as a bomb-proof car. The new 320si raises the bar still a little bit. This holds true for the active as well as for the passive security. Furthermore, the prerequisites that are prescribed by the rules for the racing version have to be additionally taken into consideration. One thing has to be mentioned: the safety cage. In addition, BMW has been certified by the FIA as an institute allowed to construct these safety cages, and this is a great advantage to us. And then things like the head- and neck support for the driver and the energy-absorbing foams in the doors and in other elements of the car. Question: What do you desire for the next season? Answer: In the touring sport the drivers drive side by side. But I wish that the other drivers will get left behind. And obviously that we stand up to the exciting duels and that at the end BMW will secure itself a podium position.