BMW M12

The BMW M12/13 turbo 1500 cc 4-cylinder turbocharged Formula One engine, based on the standard BMW M10 engine introduced in 1961, powered the F1 cars of Brabham, Arrows, Benetton. Nelson Piquet won the FIA Formula One Drivers' Championship in 1983 driving a Brabham powered by the BMW M12/13 turbo. It was the first Drivers' Championship to be won using a turbocharged engine. The engine also powered the BMW GTP and in the 2.0 liter naturally aspirated form, the successful March Engineering Formula Two cars.

As BMW M12, the engine design since the 1960s became one of the most successful engines in racing. Starting with the European Touring Car Championship, it was also used in Formula 2, expanded to two litre and fitted with four-valve heads, producing over 300 hp (224 kW). In the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, a 1400 cc variant (with a 1.4 handicap factor equal to 2000cc) was turbocharged by Paul Rosche according to FIA Group 5 rules. At well over 350 hp (261 kW) from the beginning, it rendered the normally aspirated engines in the two liter category useless. After some development, power, driveability and reliability improved, especially in the IMSA car, and BMW began to think about entering F1, where a handicap factor of 2.0 required 1500 cc engines.

During the 1982 season, the Brabham team, then owned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, used both the older Cosworth DFV V8 engine as well as the turbocharged BMW M12 in selected races in a development program. The BMW proved to be fast in its first year in Formula One, though its reliability with turbocharging still in its infancy was lacking. Reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet recorded the first win for the engine in F1 when he led home Brabham team mate Riccardo Patrese (in the Cosworth powered car) in the crash marred 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

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