Schwarz was born in Neustadt an der Aisch in the Franconia region of Germany. He began rallying in 1983 and rose rapidly through German domestic competition, winning the German Rally Championship in consecutive years in 1987 and 1988. Those back-to-back titles earned him a debut in the World Rally Championship in 1988.
In 1990, Schwarz was signed by Toyota Team Europe, the factory's WRC operation, to drive a Toyota Celica GT-Four. He led a world championship rally for the first time at the 1990 Rally Portugal and recorded his first podium at the 1991 Rally Australia. Shortly afterward he took his only WRC victory at the 1991 Rally Catalunya, a result that proved to be the high point of his career in terms of outright wins.
In 1996, Toyota received a 12-month ban from the WRC following a technical infringement. Schwarz used that year to compete in the European Rally Championship with the Toyota team, winning the Manx International Rally and the Cyprus Rally to claim the overall ERC title — adding a significant regional championship to his record. He also won the RAC Rally, which was at that time part of the 2-Litre World Championship.
In 1997, Schwarz moved to the M-Sport Ford rally team based in Cumbria, England, but was replaced by Juha Kankkunen following a series of disappointing results. After further stints with Mitsubishi and Ford, he joined the Škoda works team at the start of the 1999 season, beginning a long association with the Czech manufacturer. His best result with Škoda came at the 2001 Safari Rally, where he finished third.
Schwarz competed in the WRC until the end of the 2005 season, recording his first points finish in over a year at the season-closing Rally Australia before retiring from world championship competition.
After leaving the WRC, Schwarz helped establish the Red Bull Škoda team in 2006 alongside GSL and Baumschlage following the Red Bull Young Rally Driver's Search Programme. He also began competing from 2007 in American off-road racing through the SCORE International championship, including events such as the Baja 1000, driving with the support of the California-based All German Motorsport team.
At the 2000 Race of Champions, Schwarz won the Rally Masters event, further demonstrating his skill in head-to-head competition.
Schwarz settled in Austria. His son Fabio Schwarz began competing in WRC 2 from 2025.
Across nearly two decades in the WRC, Schwarz earned a reputation as a dependable professional capable of extracting results from a range of manufacturers across varying conditions. His ERC title in 1996 remains one of the stronger achievements of his career alongside the 1991 Catalunya win. His later mentorship role in developing the Red Bull Škoda programme reflected a broader contribution to the sport beyond his own driving career.
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