BMW Motorsport delivered the first fifteen examples of the M235i Racing coupe to customers at the Nürburgring on Wednesday. The new entry-level customer race car, which sells for €59,500, will be raced on the Nürburgring Nordschleife this year in the VLN Endurance Championship. It will also compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the Circuit Racing Challenge Nürburgring. BMW will award a special cup for the M235i Racing in the 2014 VLN series, which begins in April.
The new race car is produced on the same assembly line in Leipzig that is used for the street version of the car, the M235i. The new race car is powered by a 333-hp 2,979 cc turbocharged in-line six. The transmission is a race-prepared version of the eight-speed ZF automatic with paddle shifters that is used in the M235i. The race car is equipped with ABS, DSC and traction control. It uses 265/660 R18 Dunlop racing tires. Dunlop has worked with BMW to develop both slicks and wet weather versions of the tires.
As noted here in January, BMW is considering offering the M235i Racing in the US, but no decision has been made at this point in time.—Brian S. Morgan
