DTM

DTM: a Mighty Power Unit

The V8-engine designed by Spiess Motorenbau GmbH early in the new millennium for Opel delivered a massive 470bhp. With this engine, the experts from Ditzingen again exceeded the expectations: the Opel power unit was regarded as the most powerful on the grid of the planet's most spectacular touring car series. 80 percent of the V8-engine's components were manufactured in-house, therefore, the Spiess experts had the chance of controlling the manufacturing process themselves and could enhance the engine efficiently.

Another proof of the project's extraordinary charges: while the cars were racing at the different circuits, the engines ran at Spiess' dynamic test rig in Ditzingen's Dieselstraße simultaneously and nearly at the same time respectively. The data acquired during the practice session were transferred to Ditzingen live to then be processed there with high performance computers and the dynamic test stand. This way, Spiess had the opportunity to execute vital set-up work and let it have some influence on the racing.

At the end of the day, it was the most difficult and gruelling race that turned out to be the successful climax of the extensive Opel DTM-engine project: the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring's legendary Nordschleife.
In 2003, Opel won this endurance classic with the V8-engine that had been designed and optimised for endurance racing by Spiess.