You want to see some hot touring-car action? There’s no shortage of series around the world, but one of the most popular is DTM. Germany’s touring car series has revised the rule book for this season, sending the three participating manufacturers back to the drawing board. And this is what BMW came up with.

It’s the new M4 DTM, and while it’s based closely on the outgoing model that won the drivers’ championship in 2014 and 2016, and the constructors’ in 2014 and ’15, it’s been substantially upgraded for the season ahead.

For starters, it’s more powerful: larger air restrictors means the 4.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 now produces in excess of 500 horsepower. It’s also more aerodynamically efficient, sitting lower to the tarmac with a new dual-element rear wing (among other aero changes).

The carbon-fiber brake discs provide more stopping power than before, and while many suspension components have been standardized, they can still be adjusted for specific tracks. So can the transmission, incidentally: while the sequential gearbox incorporates six gears at a time, the race engineers can choose from eleven ratios depending on the type of track.

It even has blue-cross headlights like the original M3 DTM and 3.0 CSL. But it’ll take more than that to defeat the Audi RS5 and Mercedes-AMG C63 that have both been redesigned for this year as well. In short, it’s gonna be a good season for German racing fans, and anyone following from elsewhere, too.

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