Touring car racing is a race where ordinary sedans running around the city move the stage to the circuit course and perform like not usually seen. Touring car racing is a very popular category with a long history among motorsports. The regulation has changed with the times and was grouped using the alphabet in 1981, and touring car racing was contested by cars stipulated in Group A. The modification range was narrow, but therefore, in order to achieve good results in the race, it became necessary to improve the performance of the base production-derived cars. While the Group A racing was gaining high popularity, only a limited number of manufacturers were available to compete due to increased costs. The Super 2000 regulations, which came into effect in 2000, evolved from group A regulations and were designed to keep costs down. Based on mass-produced cars, the engine was limited to 2 L naturally aspirated, and the drive was limited to 2WD for touring cars. It was adopted by the British BTCC, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC), and it attracted a lot of entrants.
BMW, which has been participating in touring car races for a long time, also supported Super 2000. The BMW Super 2000 touring car was developed based on the model called the codename E46, the 3 series that was model changed in 1999 and became the 4th generation. The front mounted engine was an inline-6 1990cc engine with DOHC 24 valve and produced a maximum power of 250 horsepower by natural intake. This engine was combined with a sequential 5-speed transmission, and the drive was FR layout to drive the rear 2 wheels. The suspension was strut at the front and the rear is a double wishbone to convey engine power to the road surface.
The BMW 320i E46 Super 2000 participated in the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) operated under the same regulations since 2000. In the 2004 season, the BMW 320i E46 were entrusted to BMW Team Italy-Spain, BMW Team Belgium-Luxembourg, BMW Team Deutschland, etc. Andy Priaulx of BMW Team UK won five races a year, including the race held at Donington Park in England, and won the champion of the year.
The Super 2000 touring car race developed into the WTC (World Touring Car Cup) in the following year 2005. The BMW 320i E46 continued to play an active part in WTC.