Masterly
In the mid-70s, BMW was more or less following than leading in the touring car category, and the good times of the 02 and the 3.5 CSL were finally over. But at M GmbH, Jochen Neerpasch was at the helm, and he had clear ideas: the new, smaller, lighter 3 Series, E21, should do the trick. The regulations for Group 5 for 1977 gave the manufacturers a relatively large amount of freedom, but M GmbH did not have the big pots of money available either, so they could not have ambitions for overall victories. However, the 3 Series, introduced in 1975, could do with a bit of publicity – and Neerpasch still had an ace up his sleeve: the Junior Team. Officially, it was a junior development programme, of course, but the ‘Wild Riders’ quickly became the kings of the hearts of the spectators.
The new vehicle, which is said to have been developed in just 12 weeks (including wind tunnel tests at Pininfarina), was introduced in December 1976 and was powered by the well-known M12 engine from Formula 2. With a displacement of two litres and the well-known mechanical Kugelfischer injection, this unit initially produced 305 hp at 9250 rpm. This power was transmitted to a rear axle with a limited slip differential (100%) via a 5-speed Getrag transmission (Type 245) and a cardan shaft. The front wheels were suspended on wishbones and the rear wheels on semi-trailing arms, each with a transverse stabiliser, coil springs and Bilstein shock absorbers. To enable the wheels to be changed quickly at the pits, the car had permanently installed hydraulic jacks. In the first phase, the Group 5 E21 was 4.77 metres long, exactly 2 metres wide and 1.26 metres high; the wheelbase was 2.56 metres, and the unladen weight was between 740 and 790 kg, depending on the source. But these are just dry figures. The show put on by young drivers Marc Surer, Manfred Winkelhock and Eddie Cheever in the 1977 DRM is more memorable: three race wins, disciplinary action from Neerpasch and the racing authorities, and the boys were constantly in the news. The race at the Norisring is legendary, when Surer and Hans Heyer (in a Ford Escort) got into each other’s way so much that the cars were hardly recognisable after the finish; Surer was then banned for two months.
But it just wasn’t enough, and the customer teams weren’t completely satisfied either. So Schnitzer built its own turbo version based on the M10 engine, with a mere 1.4-litre displacement, but blown up to an impressive 410 hp. Manfred Winkelhock and Harald Ertl showed the turbo’s potential right at the start of the season. Ertl was given the car shown here, E21-R1-26, for the last four races of the season – and easily won the championship. The BMW, one of two cars with this engine, was also used by Schnitzer in the 1979 and 1980 DRM, claiming further victories. At the end of the season, it was shipped to Macau for the races there, was fitted with a 2-litre engine, and in 1984 was converted back to a turbo, and continued its career in Asia until almost the end of the 80s. In recent years, this E21 has been completely restored in Belgium to the condition in which Ertl drove it to the championship in 1978. Bonhams will auction E21-R1-26 in Paris at the beginning of February; 750,000 to 950,000 euros are expected.
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