Raceland Gold Edition by Spark. Exclusive model.
It was predictable that the exploding costs for the spectacular Group 5 cars would put an end to the popular German Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft at the end of 1981. BMW was too late with its turbocharged version of the BMW M1 although Hans Joachim Stuck and Schnitzer tried hard to get rid of the car's teething problems. Still the Munich evolution never came close to its division 1 competitors Porsche 935 and the Zakspeed Ford Turbo Capri. It can be safely assumed that sponsor AGFA with its large-scale Meisterfoto colour print photo promotion had expected a lot more as well. Just as a makeshift solution the team had a 1980 division 2 BMW 320 Turbo at hand.
The penultimate round at Hockenheim again saw desperate faces of the Schnitzer mechanics with their BMW M1 so the small BMW 320 Turbo was wheeled out spontaneously. How improvised this operation was can be seen from the fact that sponsor AGFA several re-decorations of the car during this Hessen Cup Hockenheim weekend. Strietzel Stuck qualified the car 6th on the grid but on race day the turbo of the 1.4 litre engine blew after only a few laps. It was the last DRM appearance of the extra wide Schnitzer BMW 320 Turbo and at the same time the impending farewell to the most spectacular touring car series of all times.