Electric BMW i4 M50 Safety Car revealed

BMW has announced it will pension off the i8 safety car it uses to support the MotoGP and replace it with its pure-electric 2022 BMW i4 M50.

Set to be introduced at the Austrian MotoGP on August 15, the BMW i4 M50 Safety Car comes equipped with dual electric motors that provide all-wheel drive and produce a healthy 400kW/795Nm.

The German car-maker hasn't released official performance figures for the safety car, which is expected to be heavier than the road-going version on account of its roll cage and life-saving equipment on board.

But it's still expected to come close to matching the regular car's 3.9-second 0-100km/h time.

The safety car has a roof-mounted light bar and additional blue lights within the enlarged lime green grille, but it's not known whether BMW M has given it a chassis upgrade to help it cope with track work.

As it is, BMW officially states that the i4 M50 weighs 2215kg unladen.

A significant factor in the car’s weight is the heavy 80.9kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides up to 510km of range on a single charge – not a figure that will be replicated responding to on-track incidents.

Commenting on the launch of the car-maker's first zero-emissions safety car, BMW M boss Markus Flasch said: “With the BMW i4 M50, we are entering a new era and presenting our first M with a fully-electric drivetrain.

“With the first M BEV we are setting course for a future in which the combination of extremely sporty performance vehicles and electrification is an exciting theme. We are showing that everything people have come to value about M – the typical emotional M driving experience with sportiness, power and dynamics – is also possible in a fully-electric vehicle.

"While the production version of the four-door Gran Coupe will hit the market in the autumn [November], our fans can enjoy its world premiere at the racetrack this summer. There could not be a more appropriate safety car for MotoE than the BMW i4 M50 – pure performance, fully electric. We are looking forward to the premiere in Spielberg.”