BMW has produced some incredibly iconic cars over the decades and of them, the E30-generation M3 Johnny Cecotto is one of the finest and least well-known among the general public.
Cecotto was born in Venezuela in January 1956 and by the time he was 19, he had won the motorcycle road racing world championship and was rightfully considered a prodigy. When he turned 24, Cecotto turned his attention to car racing and would go on to race in a plethora of championships, including Formula 1.
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The Venezuelan racer later found himself competing in various touring car series around the world, racing with BMW for many seasons, including DTM from 1988 to 1992 where he drove a BMW M3 and finished as runner-up in the 1990 season. He also claimed race wins at the 24 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
BMW decided to honor Cecotto in 1989 and launched a limited-edition version of the M3 named after him. Production was capped at just 505 units worldwide and in this newly released video from BMW Group Classic, the car manufacturer showcases the car while highlighting some of the racer’s key driving achievements.
The M3 Cecotto wasn’t very different from the ‘standard’ model, although it was the first variant of the E30 M3 to use the 215 hp version of BMW’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder S14 engine. It was available exclusively in either Misano Red, Macao Blue metallic, and Nogaro Silver metallic.
