While Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz compete to become the top German luxury automaker in sales, the DTM race season is what allows all three to put their machines to the real test.

“The DTM Orchestra” is a video that recaps last year’s DTM season, but isn’t your typical video with race footage and pit footage blended together. With the background of a real, live orchestra playing, this incredibly well produced video will be the coolest thing you’ll watch today, if not all month. It truly shows off the battle between all three major German automakers in a fashion that only DTM can deliver.

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As part of an agreement with Grand-Am and IMSA, Germany’s impressive DTM racers will be lining up on the starting grid as soon as 2015.

The news was revealed yesterday during a press conference in New York, and pointed to a North American DTM series that could run as part of the United SportsCar Racing event weekend.

“It’s fantastic news that there could soon be a US DTM. The Audi RS models are very popular in America. I’m convinced that our customers will be delighted to see the Audi RS 5 DTM in action,” said Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America.

Audi teams have seen success in the DTM series, capturing the title eight times: 1990 and 1991 with the Audi V8 quattro, 2002 with a Coupé based on the Audi TT plus, and 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 with the Audi A4 DTM. In the new DTM series, which starts May 5th, Audi developed an Audi RS 5 DTM.

This news is exciting for racing fans across the country, as more and more series are being brought to the states.

After a nearly 20-year absence from participating in DTM, BMW triumphantly returned for the 2012 season proving that the German automaker didn’t miss a beat while taking time off from racing.

Fielding three teams and six cars, BMW and its M3 captured the driver’s championship with Bruno Sprengler, while Team Schnitzer carried home the team’s title at the end of the season. As a result of its on-the-track success, BMW took home the manufacturer’s championship to finish off the trifecta.

SEE ALSO: BMW M3 DTM Race Car Revealed: 2012 German Touring Car Season Now Officially Interesting

To celebrate its successful 2012 DTM season, BMW is releasing a very limited M3 sporting a Frozen Black metallic paint shade, inspired by its championship-winning race cars. The roof and trunk are carbon fiber pieces that have been further accented by a traditional M stripe. Adding some aerodynamic tweaks to the model are carbon fiber flaps and gurney wing while decals celebrate the DTM championship season.

Inside, the automaker outfitted the limited-to-54 special edition M3 with the car’s serial number and Sprengler’s signature. The steering wheel has been wrapped with Alcantara while black Novillo leather is contrasted by Palladium Silver accents. The DTM Championship Edition M3 will come fully loaded with the Competition Package, M Drive, and the M Driver’s Package and is only available with a seven-speed M DCT Drivelogic dual-clutch transmission.

It’ll be available in Germany starting at around $130,000 including VAT, but there’s no word if it’ll be making it to America yet.

GALLERY: BMW M3 DTM Champion Limited Edition

Seasoned race car driver David Coulthard will end his racing career this weekend at the DTM season finale at Hockenheim.

“The weekend will be my final opportunity to compete at this level as I will stop racing in the DTM to concentrate on my developing off-track businesses and, of course, my family,” Coulthard said.

The 41-year-old will continue to be a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and will concentrate on his role in BBC’s Formula One coverage. Coulthard won 13 of 246 F1 Grand Prix races throughout his 15-season career before switching to DTM racing in 2010.

Although he hasn’t enjoyed great success in DTM – his best finish was fifth place – Coulthard has been an invaluable asset to the Mercedes team. ”He has been a successful member of the Mercedes family for over a decade and a half and will remain so after his retirement from active racing,” Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug said.

[Source: BBC]

Not quite the same merger as what ALMS and Grand-Am are doing, but DTM and Japan’s Super GT have signed a cooperation deal that will see DTM race cars at Super GT events and vice versa.

For decades, race enthusiasts have dreamt what it would be like to see the DTM race cars of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz compete against the likes of Super GT racers from Honda, Nissan, and Toyota. Starting in 2014, that dream will become a reality thanks to a new agreement between the two racing bodies.

The agreement regarding the use of the ‘New DTM’ regulations by Japan’s Super GT will begin in 2014, and for now, will run for at least four years. The two organizations will work together on the basis of sharing technical regulations to not only guarantee maximum safety and cost-efficient racing, but put on a spectacular sport across Europe and Japan.

During a transitional period, cars will be categorized based on a system called ‘balance of performance,’ to create equal opportunities for DTM and Super GT race cars with different engine concepts.

“This is a very special day for all those involved but in addition, it also has got outstanding significance for the entire motor racing world. This unique cooperation was made possible by the right parties getting involved at the perfect point in time,” said Hans Werner Aufrecht, Chairman of DTM rights holder.

[Source: Audi Motorsport Blog]

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since BMW last participated in a DTM race, but the return of the German automaker to the series is already a successful one. 

After 52 grueling laps at Lausitz, Canadian Bruno Spengler was able to turn his pole position into BMW’s first DTM win in almost 20 years. As icing on the cake, it marked BMW’s 50th victory in the long-storied championship series.

Second place went to German automaker rival Mercedes-Benz, while BMW also took the third spot on the podium thanks to the driving of Augusto Farfus. While Audi is celebrating its success for its R18 Ultra and e-tron quattro race cars, its DTM campaign at Lausitz saw a fifth place finish by Mattias Ekstrom.

“Our strong comeback weekend in Hockenheim, then yesterday the first pole position and now – in the second race – even our first win in the new DTM-era. That’s amazing, simply amazing, absolutely amazing,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director.

BMW will return to Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) after an almost 20-year absence. To celebrate the occasion, which will occur this weekend, the automaker release a video showing its awesome car running around a track with dramatic music in the background. 

Based out of Germany, the series will pit BMW against its main competitors: Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Six M3 DTMs will compete in the series in an effort to further bolster the automaker’s record, which includes 49 wins, 30 pole positions and three drivers’ titles.

The car seen in the video below uses a 4.0-liter V8 that makes 473 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed sequential transmission to sprint from 0-60 mph in about three seconds.

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The fearsome Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Coupe is going to be taking on an arguably tamer role than its used to. Instead of laying rubber on a track, it will be the official safety car of this season’s DTM Season.

GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Coupe DTM Safety Car

This C63 AMG Black Series Safety Car features much of the same hardware as the ‘normal’ C63 AMG Black Series. Just to remind you, that means it has a whopping 6.3-liter V8 that makes 517 hp, as well as the 7-speed automatic transmission that helps the Black Series Safety car hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

There are some interesting additions to this car as it’s fully optioned out with every single AMG performance package. That means it has the AMG track package, the AMG aerodynamics package, the AMG exterior carbon-fibre package and forged AMG light-alloy wheels.

All of those extras are put to good use since the C63 AMG Black Series safety car will be used to make the race as safe as possible for racing drivers, spectators and track marshals. This means it has to perform in any situation, like poor weather conditions, among accidents and through other strenuous circumstances.

Of course that is the main reason this car exists, and has that unique light-bar on the car’s roof. It’s aerodynamically optimized, and switches from green to orange in order to reflect the driving situation.

Check out the full gallery to see the new DTM Safety Car in all its glory.

Audi Motorsport has revealed the designs for its eight A5 DTM race cars scheduled to compete at the Hockenheimring season opener on April 29th.

“Without the support of our partners it wouldn’t be possible to field a total of eight cars under a factory commitment in such a high-caliber racing series. In addition, they are adding color. I think that our designers in collaboration with our partners have managed to get very beautiful cars off the ground,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. ”I’m convinced that the fans will feel similarly and that the sporty elegance of the Audi A5 and the unique shape of the coupe will impress in the DTM as well.”

At the first official DTM test days at Valencia, four of the new Audi A5 DTM race cars ran the track sporting their new livery. The other four A5s will debut at the Hockenheim track test days on April 2nd to April 5th.

Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström and Spanish driver Miguel Molina will be sporting the infamous Red Bull graphics on their A5s that you may have already seen. Timo Scheider, DTM Champ in 2009 and 2010, is once again sporting AUTO TEST livery on his vehicle. Rahel Frey gets yellow on his car for E-POSTBRIEF while 2010 Le Mans winner, Mike Rockenfeller, will represent the Schaeffler Group.

2011 rookie of the year, Edoardo Mortara will compete in a black A5 for men’s magazine Playboy. Driver Filipe Albuquerque’s A5 will be a nice blue to advertise sponsor TV Movie magazine. The last A5′s livery is Adrien Tambay’s car is a silver/white mix and represents Audi’s aim to communicate its new ultra-lightweight technology.

GALLERY: Audi A5 DTM Race Cars

Audi reveals the homologated Audi A5 DTM race car today as the automaker from Ingolstadt makes its final racing preparations before the season debut at the Hockenheimring.

Details are limited on the new race car as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have all been testing in top-secret conditions for the past several weeks. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich said, “More than ever before, even the minutest detail will count this year in DTM. Obviously you want to keep the things you’ve worked out over the past few months under wraps for as long as possible.”

So far, we do know that Audi has submitted its relevant design drawings, CAD data, descriptions and photographs to Deuscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB), all of which have been approved for homologation yesterday, March 1.

For the new DTM racing season, regulations have imposed further restrictions on aerodynamics to shake up the playing field. Despite the rule changes, Audi has consistently come out as the trendsetter in racing innovations for the past couple of years. No doubt, the Audi engineers still believe they’ve delivered some interesting ideas into their new A5 race car.

As of now, a released image of a camouflaged A5 DTM have effectively disguised new aero elements but some changes can still be identified. LED daytime running lights from a production A5, a single-frame radiator grill, air intakes, and the canards on the side dominate the front end. Heat extracting vents can also be seen on the hood. If squinting hard enough, one would notice the complex aero management across the lower third of the vehicle flanks. Finally, the rear section shows a tall swan-neck spoiler as well as a massive diffuser stretching out.

According to Audi factory driver Filipe Albuquerque, the new changes resulted to dramatic improvements. “I expected quite a bit of it, but I wouldn’t have thought that the step would be so big. Particularly in fast turns, the new A5 DTM handles like a formula car. Truly fascinating! I think I’d have to readjust quite a bit if I switched back to the old A4 DTM.”

The days that remain before the Hockenheim season opener will be dedicated to fine-tuning the A5 DTM and maximizing its racing potential. Look for it testing at Valencia from March 20 to 22 before the Hockenheimring event on April 29, 2012.

Mercedes-Benz motorsport has again turned to Racer David Coulthard this year to pilot some new AMG wheels for the DTM season.

The 40-year old Coulthard will be starting his third year in DTM with Mercedes-Benz in the new AMG C-Class Coupe, rather than his previous car the AMG C-Class Sedan. He will be right at home with the C-Coupe’s paddle shifters, which are very similar to the F1 cars he used to drive. Back in the day, Coulthard picked up 13 F1 wins.

“My first impressions of our DTM Mercedes AMG C‑Coupé are very positive – especially the paddle shift on the steering wheel which I know very well from my time in Formula One,” said David, clearly excited about the new cars features.

This new car is replacing the AMG Mercedes C-Class, which is the most successful vehicle in the 27-year history of the DTM with 84 victories from 156 races.

The 2012 C-Class Coupe will wear new graphics to support Coulthard’s charity foundation “Wings for Life” which aims to find a cure for paraplegia caused by spinal cord injuries.

Not long after Mercedes-Benz revealed their C-Coupe DTM car, Audi went ahead and one-upped their German rival with the launch of the A5 DTM.

Like most DTM cars, the A5 DTM has nothing in common with its road car sibling. The A5 DTM uses a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and a 455 horsepower V8 as well as a 6-speed sequential gearbox. No other details were released, but given the competitive nature of DTM and the fairly limited wiggle room in the rules and regulations, we’d expect the specifications to be a fairly closely guarded secret.

Prototypes are apparently undergoing testing at Audi facilities in Germany, and should be ready to go in time for the upcoming DTM season.

Gallery: Audi A5 DTM