Project CARS: Gets BMW Partnership

Yesterday, Slightly Mad Studios announced a new partnership with BMW, which allows Project CARS to feature ten of BMW's most prestigious cars from seven decades! The ten cars that were selected are as follows:

2012 1M Coupe

The 1M Coupe is BMW’s newest member in the family of M high performance vehicles. Powered by a twin-turbo 3 liter straight six engine providing 335hp of power, the 1M sprints from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds.

The car was met with instant critical acclaim in the automotive press, it also became the quickest BMW to ever lap the test track of BBC’s popular “Top Gear” show.

1978 320 Turbo Group 5

Made popular by the German Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, the 320 Turbo was BMW’s answer to the FIA Group 5 silhouette regulations.

Powered by a turbo-charged four-cylinder engine, the 320 Turbo utilised up to 600hp of power. The car was campaigned by BMW’s own Junior Team that saw promising young drivers such as Eddie Cheever and Marc Surer engaging in successful battles against other German manufacturers.

1999 V12 LMR

The V12 LMR was BMW’s weapon of choice for their 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours assault. The open-top prototype was built by Williams and campaigned by BMW Motorsport, the car was powered by a 6.1 liter V12 engine, weighing 915 kilograms.

The car proved to be an instant success as the V12 LMR won both the 1999 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours before spending another season in the American Le Mans Series until the end of 2000.

2012 BTCC 3-series

The BMW 320si is one of BMW’s most accomplished touring car racers ever built. Designed to the Super 2000 regulations for FIA touring cars, the car has successfully raced in various series around the world.

Following three manufacturer titles in the World Touring Car Championship, the car is now racing in the British Touring Car Championship in the hands of eBay Motors’ Robert Collard & Tom Onslow.

1981 BMW M1 Procar

The M1 Procar was the racing version of BMW’s popular M1 sports car. Based on the road-going version of the M1, the Procar version was equipped with a racing suspension, racing aerodynamics and a more powerful version of the BMW M88 straight-six engine that provided 470hp in racing trim.

Racing in support of the Formula One World Championship, the Procar Series used a unique approach in which veteran Formula One drivers would compete against young & promising drivers, all racing in equal BMW M1 Procar race cars.

1991 BMW M3 Group A Touring Car

Based on the BMW M3 E30 road car, the touring car version of BMW’s first ever M3 quickly became one of the most successful race cars around the world.

Powered by a 2.3 liter inline-4 engine tuned up by BMW’s engine guru Paul Rosche, the car put out 300hp at 8.200rpm. The M3 Group A went on to win several high-profile touring car titles around the world, including two European Touring Car Championship trophies.

1940 328 Touring Coupe

The 328 Touring Coupe became known for clinching BMW’s first and only win at the legendary Mille Miglia, an open-road endurance race held in Italy until 1957.

Driven by Huschke von Hanstein & Walter Bäumer, the streamlined 328 Coupe was built and designed with the help of Italian chassis builder Touring, winning the 1940 edition of the Mille Miglia with a lead of more than 15 minutes.

2008 F1.08

Designed and campaigned by the BMW Sauber Formula One Team, the F1.08 was BMW’s most successful Formula One car of the modern era.

Driven by Robert Kubica & Nick Heidfeld, the F1.08 helped BMW to a third place in the 2008 F1 manufacturers championship, including a victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

2012 Z4 GT3

The Z4 GT3 is BMW’s current customer racing model for competition in the FIA GT3 class. Powered by a V8 engine, the car races in one of motorsport’s most prestigeous classes, facing competition from all of BMWs main competitors.

Campaigned by notable teams such as Schubert Motorsport & Vitaphone Racing, the Z4 GT3 is regularly driven by BMW’s squad of works drivers and has clinched several wins and titles, including an overall win at the Dubai 24 Hours race.

2012 BMW M3 E92 GT

The M3 E92 marked BMW’s return to international sports car racing and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Designed for competition in the ACO’s GT2 & GTE classes, the E92 went on to be very successful on both sides of the pond.

Now, that all the muscle machines are out of the way, I would like to direct your attention to the video below. The talented developer Ben Buja over at World Of Mass Development created the time lapse video below, showing the dynamic clouds in motion at Connecticut Hill in a full day & night cycle.

As with everything regarding the time of day & weather system, the clouds are completely dynamic, affecting the shadows & lighting of the environment, creating a stunningly realistic driving atmosphere.



There you have it racing fans, and it is in my opinion, that this game is really shaping up to be one of the best racing simulations ever. Currently, Project Cars is being developed and released for the PC in 2013. Slightly Mad Studios hopes to bring the game to the Xbox 360 shortly afterwards.