BMW will return to Le Mans in the M8 GTE

A concept of the handsome new luxury coupe was unveiled over the weekend (26^th-28^th May) at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, read our story on that here.  Now BMW has confirmed that alongside development of the “two-door 7-Series” is an M8 version which has been putting in the miles at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. A camouflaged version was temptingly paraded in front of racers and fans at the weekend’s Nürburgring 24-hour race.

BMW confirms that development is also under way of a race-spec car, the M8 GTE, to spearhead the return of BMW Motorsport to European GT racing. As a successor to the M6 GT, which races only in the US, it’s thought the new M8 GTE will be eligible for both the GTE Pro class of the World Endurance Championship, including Le Mans, as well as IMSA racing in North America. 

When the racer hits the tracks in 2018 it will be the first time in seven years that BMW Motorsport has fielded a car at Le Mans. The M8 GTE’s debut race is expected to be in the Daytona 24 Hours in late January 2018.

The road-going M8, shown in the pictures with its larger air intakes, modified brakes and a sports exhaust with four tailpipes clearly visible under the camouflage, is sure to be the most powerful road car BMW has ever built, with in excess of the 600bhp that the all-new M5 (due to be unveiled in a few weeks’ time) is expected to boast.

“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,” says Frank van Meel, BMW M Division president.