BMW Australia is the latest automotive brand to go public with its rejection of an approach to join the V8 Supercars Championship.
While there remains hope that a sixth manufacturer will join the series next year, BMW Australia’s marketing boss Tom Noble has categorically ruled out the Bavarian marque from joining the grid.
Noble confirmed that Mark Skaife, the man appointed by V8 Supercars to lead the Car Of The Future project, had approached the company last year.
The new-for-2013 V8 Supercars rules feature a control chassis to which manufacturer bodywork is fitted.
Critically, the engine rules have been opened up to include double-overhead camshaft engines, although many of the regulations, including the 5.0 litre capacity, 10:1 compression ratio and 7,500rpm rev limit, remain centred around the pre-existing pushrod Ford and Holden units.
“It’s not really a formula to showcase new technology, as a concept it doesn’t necessarily make sense,” Noble told News Limited.
“I’m not going to race an M3. I’m not going to race something that looks like an M3 with an engine that’s not a BMW product.
“So what am I showing and proving? I could run a race team, but I’m not showing the capability of BMW.”
BMW won Australian Touring Car titles in 1985 and 1987 while the category ran to the international Group A regulations
Others to shine in the Group A era, Nissan and Volvo, have embraced the new V8 Supercars rules, with the latter marque set to re-join the championship next year.
