Adele Smith
The BMW M Hybrid V8 has finally landed in North America where it will celebrate its motorsport debut next January. On this occasion, the endurance cars have received the final race livery with the massive “M” logo and the famous tricolor celebrating their 50th.th anniversary in 2022. As a refresher, BMW Motorsport GmbH was founded on May 1, 1972. Throughout this year, the M Sport and M road cars received an anniversary logo to mark the M half century.
The electric endurance racer was unveiled last night at a lavish event held in Los Angeles at the Petersen Museum. That puts on one of the biggest applications of a kidney grille we’ve ever seen, but it’s much wider than the controversial tall grille of the M3 or M4. The large “M” logo adorning the shark’s fin is a nice touch and you’ll also see the “world’s most powerful letter” in large font on the front fascia.
Coinciding with the launch of the race car livery, BMW announced the racer that will tame the M Hybrid V8 on the track. For next year’s GTP class from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the two hybrid engines will be driven by BMW M drivers Connor De Phillippi, Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus and Nick Yelloly. In addition, another pilot who will be involved in Daytona 24 Hours is IndyCar racer Colton Herta.
Let’s not forget BMW M Motorsport announced at the end of July that the M Hybrid V8 will also race in Europe from 2024. The LMDh prototype will take part in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which means we’ll see it in high profile. Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. In 1999, the V12 LMR triumphed there.
Meanwhile, the spiritual successor to the V12 LMR entered the US testing phase earlier this week at Sebring. It will be on display next weekend during Petit Le Mans.
