The original DTM began in 1984 as the Deutschen Produktionswagen Meisterschaft, initially featuring cars entered by privateer teams and running under FIA Group A regulations, though these rules were modified over time. By the late 1980s, works teams entered the DTM, establishing it as a popular motorsport championship in Europe. Turbochargers were banned at the start of the 1990 season due to associated costs. In 1993, the series moved away from Group A rules, adopting the FIA Class 1 Touring Cars category with 2.5 L engines, and allowing extensive use of ABS, four-wheel drive, electronic driver aids, and carbon fibre chassis. Opel, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo all fielded works teams following the withdrawal of Audi and BMW. For the 1995 season, the DTM expanded to include the inaugural FIA International Touring Car Series, alongside the traditional DTM championship. The FIA International Touring Car Series consisted of ten races held outside of Germany, while the DTM held fourteen races within Germany. Plans were made to combine the two series into the International Touring Car Championship for 1996. The ITR governing body sought FIA approval and support for the new series, granting the FIA control over the financial aspects of the championship in return. This led to complaints from teams, who felt they received little return on their investment in the high-tech series, particularly given the increased travel costs to international rounds in Suzuka, Japan and Interlagos, Brazil. The FIA also dramatically increased the price of television rights, resulting in reduced television coverage across Europe, with broadcasts limited to Italy, Germany, and Finland. Ticket prices for races nearly doubled, and access to the paddock for fans was drastically reduced. The choice of circuits also proved unpopular, with low attendance at rounds held at Magny-Cours, France, and Interlagos. Opel and Alfa Romeo both left the championship after the 1996 season, leaving only Mercedes-Benz, which ultimately led to the series’ cancellation.
In 1995, the DTM consisted of seven German events (two at Hockenheim, plus races at Avus, Norisring, Diepholz, Nürburgring and Singen) while the ITC had five non-German events (Mugello, Helsinki, Donington, Estoril, and Magny-Cours).
The DTM returned in 2000 with new rules, including a low-cost control method, and semi-International Championship status. The DTM initials then stood for Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
From 2000 to 2020, the "new DTM" raced prototype silhouette racing cars based on mass-production road cars. The series currently races modified Group GT3 grand touring cars, replacing Class 1 Touring Cars in 2021. All DTM race cars had RWD and 4.0-litre V8 engines (later 2.0-litre inline-4 turbocharged engines) which were initially air-restricted to 460 hp, over 500 hp within 2017 - 2018, 610 hp including 30 hp push-to-pass by 2019 and later 580 hp + 60 hp push-to-pass in the 2020 season. Driver aids such as ABS, traction control, launch control, active suspension, cockpit-adjustable anti-roll bar and partial car-to-team radio communications were previously prohibited under the pre 2021 "prototype" regulations except fuel mapping.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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