The factory BMW Team RLL entries are sporting a special look beginning this weekend as BMW celebrates the 40th anniversary of BMW’s first race win in the USA.

BMW Motorsport competed in the 1975 IMSA season with two new BMW 3.0 CSL race cars and will celebrate the anniversary with a unique livery and driver uniforms at Sebring.

The unveiling took place during “Cars & Coffee at the Concours” which is part of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance last weekend in Northern Florida.

1975 12 Hours of Sebring winning drivers Brian Redman, Sam Posey and Hans Stuck, 1972 -1980 BMW Motorsport Manager Jochen Neerpasch and current BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt were on-hand when BMW ace driver Bill Auberlen drove the car onto the show field to the applause of show goers and BMW Motorsport fans.

“Definitely my best Sebring memory was my first win with the BMW,” Stuck said. “

“Getting to drive that car will be a very precious moment – I haven’t driven that car in a long, long time. I remember 1975 was a very exciting race, and I really appreciate BMW taking me over for this event.”

Redman and Allan Moffat were the original drivers of the No. 25 BMW in the 1975 event. Stuck won the pole in the team’s similar No. 24 entry, but switched to the eventual winner when their car retired. The four drivers combined to win by three laps.

“They were fantastic cars, back in 1975 and 1976, and BMW had the only real works team at that time,” Redman said.

“The degree of preparation was extremely professional. The following year, the leading BMW went to five cylinders at 5 a.m., and it was still faster than any Porsche RSR out there. It was a fantastic car. The engine revved at 9,000 RPM – the power band was 6,000-9,000 – and the brakes were terrific.

“I remember our only problem was that the battery was going down late in the (1975) race. So I was running without lights, except past the pits, because I didn’t want to get black flagged. With 20 minutes to go, the rear axle temperature gauge was off the clock. So I crawled around, it held together and we won. We later found that the rear axle pinion bearing had failed, and it could have stopped at any time.”

1975, the BMW CSL, and the 12 Hours of Sebring all symbolize the simultaneous startups of a BMW national sales company and BMW Motorsport in North America. The significance and achievements are not underestimated by today’s BMW, whose brand turns 100 years old in 2016.