Art.Nr. 31038If
you browse through the best website or database on the Internet for race results (“racingsportscars.com ”), the first result you’ll find for the SCHNITZER team’s BMW 320 Turbo Low-Profile Group 5 is the current slot car from CARRERA.
In this livery and with start number 55, the car competed in the 1980 DRM at the 14th International ADAC Westfalen Cup race in ZOLDER, Belgium. The driver of the BMW was racing legend Hans Jochen Stuck. Oh, and the car also won the race in Division 2; at the end of the season, Stuck finished as runner-up in Division 2.
At the time, SCHNITZER had developed the car and the engine largely on its own. In 1978, Harald Ertl won the DRM championship in the BMW Turbo. Nevertheless, the BMW E21 in Group 5 was always somewhat overshadowed by Ford’s legendary Zakspeed Capri. This is actually surprising, considering the car had an estimated 850 PS. Furthermore, the BMW was the very first car to win the German Racing Championship title with a turbocharged engine. In Division 2 at the time, naturally aspirated engines with a maximum displacement of 2,000 cubic centimeters were permitted, but these were far outperformed by the 1.4-liter turbocharged engines, which were also allowed. That’s why FORD also developed a very fast 1.4-liter engine as early as 1978 and began using this engine type. Without a turbo, you didn’t stand a chance.
The races and battles between FORD and BMW during those years are legendary, and the drivers of that era are now icons in their field.
By the way, if you’d like to see some original footage from the race in Zoll da, here’s a link to a YouTube video.
Best regards, CoMod
Lotus
