BMW Motorsport dropped out of Formula E, dropped out of DTM for this year, and only plans to compete in four IMSA races. Then last week we learned it's preparing to merge with BMW M. It sounded like BMW has lost interest in motorsport altogether, but that's not the case.

The skunkworks division of BMW is involved in MotoGP once again, and with the brand's willingness to show us how to drift its cars, one may wonder why the German automaker hasn't jumped into the art of competitive tire shredding sooner. BMW now joins the likes of Toyota in officially backing a drift team. BMW is sponsoring the Red Bull Driftbrothers, who coincidentally built their drifting careers in an E30.

As the above video outlines, BMW has sent the brothers (Elias and Johannes Hountondji) a few brand-new examples of the M4 coupe. These were delivered about a month ago, and the brothers and their team have already torn a couple of them down to see where drifting-specific upgrades need to be made. Interestingly, Elias says that the front of the car needs little upgrading in terms of stiffness.

"We were very pleasantly surprised at how much effort BMW M put into the rigidity of the vehicle. For example, we were able to take over the front for the most part unchanged." The duo was also impressed with the oil supply system that can handle forces of 1.5 g and more. However, some upgrades still need to be made.

A second, stock M4 radiator has been added to the rear of the car and will be more thermally efficient than what the competition has been running, while the original radiator was moved forward, additional water pumps have been added, and a roll cage is being developed. The brothers will also be fitting a custom-designed widebody kit to each car they enter this year. Promisingly, on stock turbos and the stock 3.0-liter I6, the Driftbrothers have already achieved figures of over 710 horsepower and 811 lb-ft of torque.

They'll be aiming for even more power and torque, presumably with bigger turbos and a forged engine, but these figures speak volumes for how well the standard engine is built. And with the brothers getting a new M3 and a new M4 for daily driving, you can bet that their competition cars will be seriously wild.