If you own a midsize German car from the early 1990s, chances are it has a DTM twin with zero ground clearance, flared wheel arches and breathtaking livery.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft is no longer with us, even though it lives on as a very similarly named Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. But from 1984 through 1996, this touring car racing series provided racing fans in Europe with some of the best thrills on television.
DTM arguably hit its peak in the early 1990s, with constant rule changes and internal discord from the privateer teams providing additional entertainment off the track. The financial side of the series began to come apart at the seams by the middle of the decade, but not before some of the most popular European cars got a chance to slide around tracks all over Europe. And the shells of production cars wearing some of the most distinctive livery was the icing on the cake.
Where else could BMW E30 3-Series race cars trade paint with Mercedes-Benz W124 E-Class sedans? The racing was cutthroat, with boxy European sedans cutting corners like there was no tomorrow and shaving grass sod with their front spoilers, which also provided plenty of sparks.
Enjoy this compilation video with an appropriately '90s electronica musical score.
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
