The DTM has undergone several format changes over the years, most famously, it's the stomping ground for carmakers duking it out for glory running highly specialized racers loosely resembling road cars. Obviously, this has resulted in some of the fiercest and closet on track action anywhere in the world.

On paper at least, a no-contact form of Motorsports that despite FIA regulations frequently sees friendly nudges in a bid to pass, in the name of competition, of course. However, driver antics aside, it's the cars that are the stars, early entrants no more than stripped out road cars, roll cages and a mildly warmed over engine that gave rise to TWR Jaguar XJ-S, BMW M-Sports Coupes and a host of other historic racers. Cars that given the right tools any gearhead could own, build and race.

The days of genuine road cars are on the way back, albeit in a much wider global format, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche are lining up for the new breed of DTM cars.

10 Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM

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Via Andre Zehebauer / Wikipedia

Rule variations among DTM entrants change like any motorsport, Mercedes-AMG's C-class changing over the decades. In the early 2000s, four-door sedans were a common place, with more recent minimum weight increases favoring Coupes.

Mercedes AMG C63 Coupe - Front
Via FavCars

Making its competitive debut in 2015, Mercedes-AMG's C63 DTM is an altogether different beast, extensive use of carbon fiber both for its body and chassis replacing steel and aluminum. With weight pegged at 2,450 lbs powering the C63 to numerous class wins and drivers titles, AMGs naturally aspirated 4-liter V8 produces in the region of 460-480 hp depended on air-restrictors.

9 Audi A4 DTM

Audi A4 DTM - Front
Via AngMoko / Wikipedia

Anything Mercedes-AMG can do, well Audi does equally well, restricted by the same FIA regulations, only the A4 DTM came in a smidgen under weight at 2,381 lbs, leaving Audi's race technicians greater freedom with ballast placement.

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Via Smudge 9000 / Wikipedia

Bearing a passing resemblance to road cars cosmetically at least, behind the famous four-ring logo on the nose, the A4 DTM is a custom-built composite body shell, complete with a monstrous wing atop a high down force diffuser set-up. In all, Audi claimed three constructor's titles and five driver's championships between 2004-11. Subtle revisions over the seasons reflected the road cars' evolution, all retaining the same naturally aspirated 4-liter V8 configuration.

RELATED: These Are The 5 Coolest High-Performance Audis Ever Made (5 BMWs We'd Rather Own)

8 BMW E92 M3 DTM

BMW E92 M£ DTIM - Front
Via MPW57 / Wikipedia

Returning to the track in 2012, BMW's long overdue DTM return in its debut season proved highly successful, claiming five out of ten race victories, securing both the driver's and constructor's titles in the process. The E92 M3 in road guise was a potent sports coupe, shorn of excess weight via a custom build "look-a-like" body, the M3 sporting all manner of performance enhancing aero tweaks.

BMW E92 M3 DTM - Front
Via FavCars

Wider arches topped with a Lego block-like array of appendages designed to smooth out air-flow, thereby reducing drag, only to add down force with a wing large rear wing. Take a close look at its flanks, side-venting exhausts poking through the door skins. DTM success wasn't the only silverware the E92 M3 claimed, taking the 24 hours of Nürburgring win in 2010 also.

7 Rover SD1 Vitesse DTM

Rover Vitessa - Front
Via DTM / Facebook

Current generation touring cars, with their exotic materials and sophisticated electronics, have largely lost touch with the racing series origins. Back in the 80s, DTM cars were literally race prepared road cars, any gearhead could walk into a dealer and drive away the same day. Rover doesn't have the greatest reputation road cars, but give a V8 SD1 a crash diet and roll cage, and bingo you had an unlikely DTM title winner.

Rover Vitessa DTM - Front
Via DTM / Facebook

The SD1's on-road performance translated well to competition use, a torquey 340 hp 3.5-liter V8 motor more than capable of unsticking its rear wheels, adding to the DTMs spectacle. Race prepared by TWR of Jaguar XJ220 fame, the SD1 claimed victory in both the BTCC and DTM series.

6 BMW 635 CSI

BMW 635 CSI - Front
Via Micham6 / Wikipedia

A zero times race winner on the DTM circuit, BMW proved consistency was the key to success, taking the driver's title in 1984, along with 15 other series trophies between 1985-87. The 635 CSi instantly recognizable for its shark nose and subtle aero tweaks, transforming the merely quick road car into a fully fledged DTM racer.

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ViaFavCars

BMW, however, was not alone in the 635 CSi DTM project, turning to Alpina to boost performance, M30B34 straight sixes fettled to deliver 290 hp, a jump of more than fifty percent over stock engines, crucially increasing reliability over its competitors during 1984. The 635 CSi would be a race winner, just not in the DTM series.

RELATED: The Coolest BMWs Of The 1980s

5 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo

Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo - Front
Via Ferrari

In 2021 DTM regulations took an entirely different direction entrants no longer restricted to run-of-the-mill production based sedans and coupes, supercars making their first tentative appearances' with the biggest names eager to get in on the action. First up, Ferraris stunning 488 GT3 Evo, already a proven race winner with 355+ victories under its belt.

Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo - side
Via YouTube

For the DTM series, mandatory engine restrictions downgrade the Ferrari's 3.9-liter turbocharged V8 to just 560 hp, race prepared by AF Corse with an odd choice of sponsor in RedBull.

4 Porsche 911 GT3 R

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Via Porsche Press Room

In 2020 DTM organizers swapped from prototype custom-builds to production cars, opening up a whole new era for teams and fans alike, for the first time since the late 1980s what you see on track is near identical to the cars on the road. Porsche already had a successful racer in the 911 GT3, opting not to modify its DTM entrant.

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Via Porsche Press Room

Aside from race specification brakes suspension and the inclusion FIA mandatory BoP restrictors, competitors making do with 550 hp from Porsches 4-liter flat-six, no turbos and no all-wheel drive, putting its power down via a 6-speed manual transmission and fat rear tires.

3 Lexus LC500 DTM

Lexus LC DTM - Front
Via Facebook

DTM or Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters conjures images of German performance cars, or at the very least neighboring European sports cars, making Lexus an odd choice to see among the current crop of cars.

Lexus CL DTM - Side
Via Facebook

Sharing a common design with the successful GT500 spec LC, DTM versions carrying over its suspension, transmission and chassis, surprisingly designed in Europe by a German/Italian group. In DTM guise, naturally aspirated V8s produce upwards of 600 hp, mandatory air-intake retractors leveling the playing field to 550+hp.

RELATED: Here Is Why The Lexus LC 500 Is A Great Sports Car

2 Opel Calibra DTM

Opel Calibra DTM - Front
Via Race Cars direct

Opel/Vauxhall's Calibra might have been born of the less exciting Cavalier coupe, but a raft of DTM modifications transformed the merely good road-going coupe into a fire breathing DTM star that dominated the then ITC championship in 1996.

Opel Calibra DTM - Side
Via Race Cars Direct

Beneath the familiar two-door coupe body, GM-sourced Isuzu 6VD1 engines equipped with Cosworth heads and performance modifications pumped out 470 hp with an eye watering rev-limiter nearing 15,000 rpm.

1 Audi TT DTM

Audi TT DTM
Via DTM / Facebook

In 1999, ABT SportsLine contested its last STW even using Audi's A4 sedan, the following year making the switch to DTM with a hastily prepared TT-R. In its first competitive season, showing promising sings of success, although it would be 2001 until victory came the way of ABT.

Audi TT DTM - Front
Via DTM / Facebook

2002 would be the ABT TT-Rs crown performance, claiming six pole positions, five race wins and the series title, the most of any entrant on the grid. Unlike its road-going relative, the TT-R dispensed with its four-cylinder motor, instead battling on track with a naturally aspirated 4-liter V8 turning out 455 hp.