BMW is marking a return to prototype endurance racing with an incredible new car – the M Hybrid V8.
The news comes after Lamborghini revealed it was launching its own LMDh car for the 2024 IMSA and FIA seasons.
But unlike Lamborghini’s LMDh, we’ll be seeing BMW’s new effort hit the track as soon as next year.
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It’s been a long time since BMW’s last big victory in endurance racing.
It’s been so long in fact that it was technically last century.
In 1999, the BMW V12 LMR won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring, the two biggest events on the calendar.
Now, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will be carrying that history with it to Sebring in the 2023 IMSA season; it will then enter the 2024 FIA season alongside Lambo’s new racer.
As far as looks go, if you thought the kidney grilles on the BMW X7 were big, just wait until you see them on the M Hybrid V8.
They’re absolutely unmissable, especially as they’re surrounded by laser-triggered ‘nano-active optical fiber’ lighting strips.
The ‘shark nose’ front profile and boomerang-shaped ducts behind the wheel arch are nods to the looks of the current M4.
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The livery it’s wearing here is the same one it will race with, the triangular patterns of which form the M logo when viewed from the side.
Underneath its purposeful body, of course, is a brilliant chassis which was built by Dallara in Italy.
BMW M Hybrid V8 powertrain
As with Lambo’s LMDh racer, this BMW has to conform to the same regulations.
That means it also uses a V8 engine in conjunction with an electric motor that makes a maximum 640hp.
The engine it’s packing is a 90-degree twin-turbo V8 with 4.0-liter displacement.
Both the block and cylinder head are made of cast aluminum, and it uses a dry sump oil system to prevent oil starvation around corners.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 will make its race debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 28-29, 2023.
But before that, the car will be on display at the Petit Le Mans IMSA final this weekend.
