BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition likely for Australia

Cashed-up Aussie buyers who missed out on BMW’s track-ready M4 GTS may soon see a silver lining open up, with BMW Australia confirming it will pursue another limited-edition spin-off of the flagship coupe: the M4 DTM.

The German car maker announced overnight that it will produce just 200 limited-edition M4 DTMs, celebrating Marco Wittmann’s win in the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) driver’s title.

Without confirming the new model, BMW Australia market and product planning boss Shawn Ticehurst said local stakeholders were “strongly evaluating” the DTM, of which only 200 cars are available globally. If the business case proves successful, there may be new opportunities for those who missed out on the GTS in Australia.

“We knew the car was coming and we are now looking into it,” Ticehurst told motoring.com.au.

“We made the decision last week – we contacted all of our M4 GTS buyers yesterday and said ‘we’ve just announced this new DTM model. We want to give you the first choice, if you want to change your order to the DTM, you have the first chance’.

“When we do make the final decision on the DTM, the GTS buyers will get the first choice and then we’ll move on from there.”

Ticehurst confirmed the moving feast may mean those who missed out on the GTS may have another opportunity. The two cars share much of the same technology, including water-injection.

In the case of the M4 DTM, maximum power has increased to 368kW and torque to a substantial 600Nm. That’s 51kW up on the hardly tardy, standard M4.

BMW claims the M-DCT (twin clutch) equipped M4 DTM completes the sprint from 0-100 in just 3.8sec with top speed limited to 305km/h.

“Being such a big M market, we’re excited about having the availability of it,” Ticehurst said.