BMW M8 Race Car Will Spearhead Brand's Return to Le Mans

The German automaker has confirmed development of the M8 and M8 GTE race car.

After teasing a short video of the BMW M8 yesterday, the company has shared photos of the heavily camouflaged prototype. BMW didn’t beat around the bush and this won’t be a watered-down M Sport model, but rather “the engineers at BMW M are also working flat out on the M model.” Unfortunately no details or specifications have been announced, but those classic M features like larger air intakes, modified brakes, and a sport exhaust hint at what BMW says is “significantly boosted power.”

For some, the more exciting news is the fact that BMW Motorsport is developing an M8 GTE race car variant that will spearhead the brand’s return to Le Mans. BMW Motorsport plans on having the M8 GTE make its race debut at the Daytona 24 Hours in late January 2018.

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“The conception and development of the standard BMW 8 Series and the M model run in parallel,” explains Frank van Meel, President BMW M Division. “The future BMW M8 will build on the genes of the 8 Series and augment its DNA with added track ability and generous extra portions of dynamic sharpness, precision and agility. It all flows into a driving experience that bears the familiar BMW M hallmarks and satisfies our customers’ most exacting requirements.”