BMW Engines In Formulas 1 And 2

BMW's success in motorsport has always been closely related to the company's standard products, even in Formula 1 and Formula 2: The supreme power of these racing engines comes from the same standard blocks used in BMW's normal 4-cylinder cars. Since 1973, BMW has provided various racing teams with more than 500 Formula 2 power units.

Using all their technical know-how and outstanding innovations (Digital Motor Electronics), BMW's engineers developed a second high-performance engine out of the same standard block. A Formula 1 engine unparalleled in its technical features. This engine was raced for the first time in January 1982. And at the same time it made the Brabham BT 50 the fastest Formula 1 car in practice with a top speed of 198 mph. While luck was not on BMW's side in the first few races, the new car required only five Grand Prix races to prove its outstanding merits. On June 13, 1982, Nelson Piquet, the 1981 Formula 1 World Champion, scored his first overwhelming victory with the Brabham BMW. This first Grand Prix win proved BMW's claim that a successful standard-production engine can be converted into an equally successful racing team.

It took BMW and Brabham just 630 days - not even two years - to come out at the very top with their new car. Racing on the same track which saw the Brabham BMW for the first time, Kyalami/South Africa, Nelson Piquet won the Formula 1 World Championship with the turbocharged four-cylinder BMW in autumn 1983. A truly overwhelming success in the highest realms of motor racing.