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The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is, as the name suggests, Germany's premier tin-top racing series. It's taken pretty seriously by the home manufacturers, and BMW is celebrating their 2016 driver's title triumph over Audi and Mercedes by embellishing an M4 GTS with some stickers.
To be fair, the GTS version of the M4 is already quite a machine. After criticism of the standard M4 from many quarters, BMW M took the car on a comprehensive lightening programme by using composites for certain body panels, throwing the back SEATs in the bin and fitting lighter alloys wrapped in Michelin's track-biased Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. Three-way adjustable coilovers and carbon-ceramic brakes help tame the 500hp water-injected 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine, and there's a big mad wing perched on the bootlid. 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 305km/h make it the fastest production BMW ever...
The M4 DTM Champion Edition (to give its full title) adds white paint and ''M'' stripes, extra carbon bits on the front bumper and sideskirts and white paint for the half-rollcage instead of the ''regular'' GTS orange. BMW M's head honcho Frank van Meel commented: "We have the pleasure of honouring Marco's (Wittman) performance by producing a BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition in 2016 to mark his winning the DTM driver's title. Never before has one of our edition models been so closely linked to motor racing." (Have they somehow forgotten that they made the E30 M3?)
Just 200 examples will be produced, so if you didn't get your paws on one of the 700 GTS models you'd better get in quick. Limited edition cars with motorsport kudos always sell out swiftly, so this machine should be no different despite the €148,500 (in Germany) price tag.