BMW Pays Tribute to “Batmobile” 3.0 CSL with New Z4 GTLM Livery
/By Robert Sorokanich – Car and Driver
Recognize that tri-color livery? If you’re a fan of BMW racing, of course you do. The automaker first debuted the look on the IMSA 3.0 CSL, eventually blitzing its way to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1975 with legendary driver Brian Redman behind the wheel for seven of those 12 hours. This weekend, BMW unveiled a tribute livery that pays homage to that motorsports triumph, which helped make the company’s reputation in the U.S.
Emblazoned on the Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan GTLM BMW Z4 racers, the new livery manages to honor the old car without being cloyingly retro. While the two-seat Z4 may be larger and more bulbous than the Batmobile 3.0 CSL of days gone by, it wears the BMW M colors well. And in a very real way, it honors the cars that helped BMW achieve enough success to launch the M brand in the first place.
See, back in the early 1970s, BMxW was fighting hard for a solid foothold in the U.S. market. The company’s sales and marketing director pushed for an in-house racing program to help legitimize the brand and establish its identity, hopefully through racing victory.
That sales and marketing director? None other than Bob Lutz. And with a racing team that included Redman, Hans Stuck, Ronnie Peterson, and Sam Posey, the M-striped Bimmers took the European Touring Car Driver’s and Manufacturer’s championships in 1973, as well as the aforementioned Sebring victory in ’75.
So when you drool over a new M-badged BMW today, you have those iconic personalities to thank. And we can’t think of a better modern-day tribute than a racer that proudly flies the classic livery once again. Catch the vintage-themed BMW Z4 GTLM in action at the 24 Hours of Sebring on March 21.
Emblazoned on the Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan GTLM BMW Z4 racers, the new livery manages to honor the old car without being cloyingly retro. While the two-seat Z4 may be larger and more bulbous than the Batmobile 3.0 CSL of days gone by, it wears the BMW M colors well. And in a very real way, it honors the cars that helped BMW achieve enough success to launch the M brand in the first place.
See, back in the early 1970s, BMxW was fighting hard for a solid foothold in the U.S. market. The company’s sales and marketing director pushed for an in-house racing program to help legitimize the brand and establish its identity, hopefully through racing victory.
That sales and marketing director? None other than Bob Lutz. And with a racing team that included Redman, Hans Stuck, Ronnie Peterson, and Sam Posey, the M-striped Bimmers took the European Touring Car Driver’s and Manufacturer’s championships in 1973, as well as the aforementioned Sebring victory in ’75.
So when you drool over a new M-badged BMW today, you have those iconic personalities to thank. And we can’t think of a better modern-day tribute than a racer that proudly flies the classic livery once again. Catch the vintage-themed BMW Z4 GTLM in action at the 24 Hours of Sebring on March 21.
