UNDER CONTRACT.

Ex Schnitzer - Mr Ricky Chiba / Taisan racing.

Raced in Group A from 1988 – 1993.
One of 3 x M3’S used by Schnitzer to win the 1988 European Touring Car Championship (ETCC).
1989 Winner C2 Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC).
ETCC and JTCC wins, including 3 x INTER-TEC Mt Fuji 500 C2 wins.
3 owners from new.
Fresh 2.5 FIA spec’ engine.

The stout little E30 M3, is touted as the most successful touring car of all time. I don’t disagree with that statement, I would even go so far as to say that I would place a small wager on it being correct, but I would love to meet the chap who did the work to come to that conclusion that 1436 victories from 1987 to 1992 makes it the king. That’s a pretty cool stat’. BMW has gone on the record stating that circa 260 Touring Car spec M3’s (Group A, DTM, Group N) were sold from 1987 to 1992. With an extra 40 or 50 rally cars bringing the tally up to over 300 of the little terrors getting about at one stage or another. So, just through sheer numbers, the M3 has a great chance at the loftiest of touring car titles extant.

Built for the pure purpose of winning the ETCC, but rushed into production for the WTCC, the M3 came out swinging from its first race at Monza in 87. Sure, the M3’s finishing 1^st to 6^th all got pinged for running cheater panels, but that’s the kind of stuff that makes legends and added the fuel to the fire that was the Beemer Vs FoMoCo battle for WTCC supremacy. A war was waged all over the planet between these two manufacturer’s, with Charlie Lamm’s Schnitzer M3’s, going hammer and tongs against Ruedi Eggenberger’s sinister Texaco Sierra’s. The history books show it went down to the wire, with the underdog M3 taking the top step, but only just… BMW knew they were going to have to do something to keep ahead of the brutally fast RS500 Sierra.

So Darwinism was called upon and the “Evolution”, or “Evo”, tag was placed upon the first round of improvements made to the M3. These incremental homologations added speed in all the areas needed for success; greater engine power, better aero package, lighter body parts and improved driver conditions. The final Evo spec in Group A (NOT DTM) was reached by 1990. By then Australia had drifted off into its own variant of Group A, just as DTM had too. Japan however, stayed pure to the Group A ethos and what the FISA (FIA) doled out in terms of rules. This may have been because its largest active corporate competitor, Nissan, had just spent a BOMB developing the R32 GTR to dominate FIA Group A worldwide and they (Japanese FIA ASN, called the JAF) didn’t want to annoy them, or perhaps it’s just the way the Japanese are? Either way, Japan adhered to Group A in a very stringent manner and had huge grids of Ford’s, Nissan’s, Toyota’s, Honda’s, BMW’s and the odd 190E Merc’ lurking about too, which made for a golden era of the Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC).

In the thick of the JTCC battle was M3 Chassis # M3 1 / 73. Ordered by works outfit and BMW legends Schnitzer, #73 was built in early 1988 and according to the Gp A M3 “bible” with the most tuetonic name possible: M3 17.970 EMOTIONS (Say it with a German accent. So good.) Chassis #’s 70, 106 and 73 were utilised for the 1988 ETCC, with chassis #99 as a spare. Using race numbers 56, 57 and 58, Schnitzer duly won the coveted ETCC, along with the iconic Spa 24Hr. It certainly was a great year for the lads from Bavaria and if any fellow enthusiasts can show me which chassis ran what race number, or did what, that would be much appreciated! At a casual glance, no one is claiming to have the 1988 Spa 24Hr winner, so hmmm…  

Romantic Spa 24Hr speculation aside, what we do know is that in late 1988, #73 was sold to the enigmatic Japanese industrial tycoon Mr. Ricky Chiba. Chiba-san’s Taisan racing team has now raced the globe, with a Le Mans 24Hr GT win amongst his many achievements. However, what Taisan is perhaps most fondly known for, is the bonkers mid 90’s JGTC era, where he fronted with 2 x F40 Ferrari’s, a 962 Porsche, 993 and 964 RSR’s, 993 GT2 and of course our M3 #73, still in original Group A guise running around at the back of the field. It was not uncommon for Chiba-san to run at least 3 cars in a single race. The most I have seen is 5… Yup, Chiba-san is a cool kind of crazy. Wearing race number 26 and sporting the attractive Taisan / Advan black and red livery, chassis #73 hit the ground running in 1988, with a stunning 3^rd outright and 1^st in JTCC-2 at Japan’s most prestigious touring car event the Inter-TEC 500 at Mt Fuji Raceway. With 6 to 9 rounds per JTCC Gp A season, M3 #73 managed to run in the front pack of the JTCC-2 field (Read M3’s) for 5 consecutive seasons. Pretty impressive stuff. In that period she achieved the following noteworthy results in JTCC-2:

1988: 1^st in JTCC-2 at the Inter-TEC 500.
1989: Championship title and 1^st in JTCC-2 at the Inter-TEC 500.
1990: 2^nd in the championship and 1^st in the JTCC-2 at the Inter-TEC 500.
1993: 1^st at the Inter-TEC 500, being the last JTCC and FIA sanctioned Gp A race.

Throughout this long Group A career #73 was given all the latest homologated EVO tricks that BMW learned, mostly from their hard charging Group A DTM cousins. 1993 was the end of Group A in the JTCC, so M3 1 / 73 was retired to Chiba-sans famous car collection (The one with the F40 stuck to the roof!) in 1995 the booming JGTC (Japan Grand Touring Car Championship) allowed Gp A cars into its lesser category and #73 can be seen at the odd meeting, scampering around the back, battling with other old Gp A cars and the odd Lambo’. With that novelty worn off #73 went back to Chiba-sans collection again, where she sat until I happened upon an opportunity to visit the famous collection in 2012. It was a mind-blowing experience and one I am very grateful for. In 2014 a deal was agreed upon and with the help of my very special friends in Japan, #73 was on its way to Australia, with new owner Mr David Harris. David started the process of a complete mechanical overhaul as like myself, he enjoyed #73’s patina and the story it tells. Unfortunately, Mr Harris passed away before his time and now #73 is looking for a new home, that can appreciate this cars charm and speed, while benefiting from David’s labour of love, in getting her so close to running at the front of the pack again.  If you are a discerning individual, wanting to race something very competitive in Historic Group A, this car will do nicely. The fact that #73 may have a fascinating 1988 ETCC history is a sweet bonus.