With the glitz and glamour of last week's motor shows rather dominating content last week, a few stories slipped under the radar. But of course it's all even harder to find stories when they're buried away from prying eyes on a press site.
With very little fanfare BMW has announced M235i Racing. And that's not 'Racing' as in another dubious BMW trim level, this M235i has been designed for motorsport. The official line from BMW Motorsport is that the M235i replaces the M3 GT4 in its customer sports line-up and that 'the plan is initially for the car to be used in series and events such as the VLN Endurance Championship on the Nurburgring... the M235i Racing should also be successful on international stages for BMW Sports Trophy drivers.' The Sports Trophy is a BMW-run championship for privateers covering all the Motorsport vehicles.
Official pic rather better than our mock-up
The M235i Racing, like the GT4-spec M3, isn't totally overhauled from production spec. There's the standard racing stuff like an FIA-approved cage and 'the modern safety tank' (we'd assume this is a larger fuel tank) but power is only up 7hp over the roadgoing M235i to 333hp and there's no mention of any significant weight loss.
The ABS, DSC and traction control have also been recalibrated for race use, and the M Performance mechanical limited-slip diff is fitted as standard. The Performance catalogue has also been raided for new spoilers front and rear, a diffuser and carbon wing mirrors. With no official images yet we've been forced to fire up the famed PH Photoshop-o-matic and attempt a mock up. And if that doesn't encourage BMW to release some proper snaps nothing will. [UPDATE - PH concept artist sent home early, official image now in place of earlier pitiful effort at mock-up. - Ed.]
The cost for BMW's 'entry-level racing car' is 59,500 euros plus VAT. The M235i Racing will be available to privateer teams for the 2014 season; we'll ensure our man Dale at the 'ring keeps a look out!