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Phone: 831-430-9940 • See More race cars • Contact Us about this Car
1978 BMW 320 Turbo — SOLD
REQUIST A printable
PDF document with Photos
Chassis No: 003
This car is the special “light weight” car introduced
by Team McLaren in late May of 1978 to compete against the Porsche 935s that
dominated the grids. In its second race at Sears Point, David Hobbs took the
pole position and went on to win. This car is over 200 lbs lighter than the
previous model with more power, bigger brakes, and better aerodynamics. Hobbs
campaigned the car in the remaining 1978 IMSA races and in all of the 1979
IMSA races scoring 3 first place finishes and finishing second in the IMSA
Championship in 1979. The car is a time machine and is in “as-raced”
condition from 1979, with a rebuilt engine.
Weight: 1850 lbs
Manufacturer: BMW Motorsport, Engine by McLaren
Race Team: McLaren
Displacement: 2.0 Liter
History of the BMW 320 Race Cars
The 320 became BMW’s weapon in the European racing scene after the exit
of the highly successful 3.0 CSL in 1977. Both non-turbo and turbocharged
versions of the highly successful Formula 2 ‘M12’ engine powered
these racecars. The BMW Junior Team who’s up and coming drivers Eddie
Cheever, Marc Surer and Manfred Winkelhock drove to eight victories made the
non-turbo versions famous in the 1977 German Racing Championship.
The Turbo versions of these cars were raced in both Europe and the US. The European turbo cars had 1.5 liter engines while the US versions had 2.0 liter engines. The BMW owned versions of the 320 turbo you see here was campaigned by Team McLaren and driven by David Hobbs to 7 wins in the IMSA Camel GT series in 1977 and 1978. American Jim Busby also campaigned a sister car in the 1979 IMSA Camel GT series.
Significantly, the 320 turbo engine was the test bed for the BMW/Brabham BT52 that took Nelson Piquet to the 1983 Formula 1 World Championship.
Download PDF Article from Bimmer Magazine
Race History of Chassis 003
1978 IMSA, DRIVER, FINISH
Lime Rock, Hobbs, DNF
Sears Point Hobbs Pole Position 1
Mid Ohio Hobbs, Klausler 2
Road Atlanta Hobbs 24
1979 IMSA
Road Atlanta Hobbs 6
Riverside Hobbs 38
Laguna Seca Hobbs 2
Hallett Hobbs 1
Lime Rock Hobbs 2
Brainerd Hobbs 2
Mid Ohio Hobbs, Bell 9
Sears Point Hobbs 24
Portland Hobbs DNF
Road America 500 Hobbs, Bell 1
Road Atlanta Hobbs 3