The BMW M Hybrid V8 gets a new livery and a driver lineup. Today, at an event hosted by the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, BMW Motorsport, along with BMW M Team RLL, revealed an avant-garde livery which leverages the iconic BMW M colors. Along with the livery, BMW also revealed the driver lineup for the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
They are BMW M works drivers Connor De Phillippi (USA), Philipp Eng (AUT), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR). When the car makes its race debut at the 61st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona (USA) on January 28-29, they will receive big-name support from the IndyCar series driver Colton Herta (USA). The remaining endurance drivers will be announced at a later date.
The LMDH racing car was unveiled in front of BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel, Head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos, IMSA President John Doonan, and the owners of BMW M Team RLL, Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Patrick Lanigan.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 was designed by BMW Group Designworks in Los Angeles under the program leadership of Michael Scully, Global Director, Automotive and Advanced Design. The stunning livery features a deconstructed M logo and colors to “form abstract triangular pattern across” the racing car’s body design.
The design also features “Mbedded” references to the BMW logo, and utilizes both blue and purple elements to pronounce the natural colors of electricity. Additionally, the works livery carries a matte black extension ahead of the cockpit beneath the driver’s side of the windscreen.
BMW says this is the only black foil on the car, as all other black areas shown at the launch will remain in their native carbon fiber finish. And true to the form over function philosophy at BMW, this approach reduces the weight by 25 to 30 percent compared to a conventional livery for race cars.
Of course, the standout piece is the laser-lit kidney grille. As expected, the iconic design element is functional…
