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The Ultimate Racing Machine

50 Years of the BMW M3 in Motorsports

The Performance BenchmarkFor fifty years, the BMW 3 Series has been celebrated as a benchmark model line benefiting significantly from superb engineering developed through competition. Fi...

The VaultThrough Jul 26, 2026

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Location The Vault

Dates June 16, 2025 – July 26, 2026

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About the Exhibit

A Legacy of Excellence

The Performance Benchmark

For fifty years, the BMW 3 Series has been celebrated as a benchmark model line benefiting significantly from superb engineering developed through competition. First introduced in 1975 as a compact luxury sport “two-door sedan,” the 3 Series rose to racing prominence in 1978 as BMW Motorsport’s Group 5 entry. With subsequent victories in numerous racing series, including the World and European Touring Car Championships, Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), and American Le Mans Series (ALMS), models in the 3 Series quickly came to embody BMW’s famous advertising slogan, “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”

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Over the decades, racing variants of the 3 Series have led numerous innovations in chassis design, aerodynamics, and engine technology—developments that also influenced BMW’s roadgoing cars. Although the 4 Series has recently taken its place in competition, the 3 Series lends its chassis, engine, design, and legacy to these derived models. Today, the M4 continues this lineage of racing excellence.

The Ultimate Racing Machine: 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports presents race cars from each generation of the 3 Series and its 4 Series variants, along with select production models rarely seen by the public today.