BMW in June offered a primary take a look at its new M Hybrid V8 LMDh race automotive, and on Thursday the automaker revealed the livery the automotive will sport for its inaugural season.
The livery was revealed late on Thursday on the automotive’s U.S. debut on the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. BMW additionally used the occasion to substantiate its driver lineup.
The livery is dominated by the stylized “M” of the BMW M division which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this yr. There are additionally splashes of blue and purple, which BMW mentioned signifies the electrical element of the automotive’s powertrain. Unusually for a race automotive, the black areas are literally the automotive’s unpainted carbon fiber, a transfer BMW mentioned helped cut back weight of the livery by round 25% in comparison with a standard full wrap.
2023 BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh race automotive
The M Hybrid V8 begins racing in 2023, initially within the IMSA SportsCar Championship solely however then additionally within the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2024. It’s going to compete within the new GTP class within the SportsCar Championship, which is open to each LMDh and LMH automobiles. The comparable class within the World Endurance Championship is Hypercar. Stability of Efficiency guidelines will likely be used to make sure a fair taking part in area between the 2 race automotive sorts.
The M Hybrid V8 makes use of a chassis sourced from Italy’s Dallara, certainly one of 4 corporations supplying chassis for the class. The automotive might want to tip the scales at a minimal 2,270 lb, and its powertrain, a hybrid setup utilizing a modified twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 from a former DTM racing program, can generate at any time a most output of round 670 hp. The electrical element consists of a single motor mated with the V-8, with a separator clutch enabling the automotive to drive on electrical energy alone, which might be used within the pit lane, for instance.
BMW M will run its LMDh marketing campaign with America’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, below the BMW Group RLL banner and with RLL Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal as staff principal. The present plan is to area two automobiles within the SportsCar Championship.
2023 BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh race automotive’s engine
Confirmed drivers embody Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly in a single automotive and Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus within the different. The automobiles will race below the numbers 24 and 25.
The primary race would be the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona subsequent January. The race is the opening spherical of the 2023 SportsCar Championship, and the primary for LMDh.
Acura, Cadillac, Porsche and Alpine have dedicated to LMDh, whereas ByKolles, Glickenhaus, Ferrari, Peugeot, and Toyota all have dedicated to LMH. Audi had agreed to affix LMDh in 2023 however introduced in August it had canceled these plans to concentrate on a deliberate F1 entry in 2026. Lamborghini will be part of the LMDh fray in 2024.
