BMW M Hybrid V8 hypercar locked in for Le Mans
BMW is out to end 15-year victory drought at famous French endurance race with all-new top-flight racerBMW M Motorsport has revealed the car it hopes will grab victory in the new top category at Le Mans in 2024.
Marking 15 years since BMW’s first (and only) outright victory at the world’s most famous endurance race, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will compete against the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot, Toyota and Cadillac in the emerging LMDh hypercar prototype class.
To keep costs under control, BMW had the choice of four spec chassis and chose one built by Italian racing car-maker Dallara.
Powering the endurance racer is an in-house 4.4-litre twin-turbo hybrid V8 that’s thought will be closely based on an upcoming production car, such as the 2023 BMW XM.
However, power is capped to 500kW and the racer uses a motorsport-spec sequential Xtrac gearbox that packages a small electric motor within its casing.
Further tying a link between road and racer, the new BMW M Hybrid V8 features a large pair of kidney grilles, twin headlight strips, a ridged bonnet, the brand’s M Hook mirrors and even a window graphic that’s said to detail a Hofmeister kink – all design features that appear on current BMW cars like the M3 sedan and M4 coupe.
BMW M boss, Frank van Meel, said: “The most critical task and the greatest challenge for the design team in the LMDh program design team was that the prototype must be clearly recognisable as a BMW M Motorsport car.
“And I can say this to all the fans, just one look is enough to confirm that the BMW M Hybrid V8 is a BMW.”
Before it races at Le Mans in 2024, BMW’s new electrified racer will also compete in the 2023 US-based IMSA Sportscar Championship.
The driver line-up has not yet been announced.
Previous BMW race cars that competed in North America are commemorated in the BMW M Hybrid V8’s camouflage that features the 1978 BMW 320i Turbo, 1981 BMW M1/C and more recent BMW M8 GTE, among others.
There’s also added graphics to mark BMW M division’s 50th anniversary.
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