BMW’s design department wakes up for LMDh sports car!
BMW
Just when you’d started to lose all faith in BMW’s design department, the Munich brand proves it can still make pretty things by taking the wraps off its new M Hybrid V8 LMDh.
In fact, the only disappointing thing about BMW’s launch is that it has so far only confirmed the car will race in IMSA next season, and not yet in either the World Endurance Championship or Le Mans 24 Hours. However, BMW has previously stated that returning to La Sarthe for the first time since its victory in 1999 is very much part of its future plans. The M Hybrid V8 has been built to celebrate 50 years of the M Sport brand and wears an arty livery comprised of its sub-division’s traditional sporting colours.
The exact spec has yet to be announced, but the name suggests an eight-cylinder engine (it would look a bit silly if it plonked a V6 in now…) and it is built on the Dallara chassis. The cars will be run by the Rahal Letterman Laningan Racing team, which has fielded BMW GT cars since 2009. The car is due to begin testing later this year.
Yes, it still has a slightly odd ‘kidney grille’, but overall the BMW M V8 Hybrid is a real looker
“The greatest challenge for the design team in the LMDh programme was that the prototype must be clearly recognisable as a BMW,” said BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel. “Just one look at this car is enough to confirm that the BMW M V8 Hybrid is a BMW. It carries all the genes of BMW M.”
With BMW’s love for anniversaries, Le Mans 2024 will mark the 25th anniversary of its victory with the V12 LM. However, focusing on IMSA next year and sitting out Le Mans would mean missing the centenary of the 24 Hours. Watch this space…