BMW has revealed the upcoming racing derivative of the upcoming M8 even as it completes its first set of testing at the Lausitzring racetrack in Germany. The GTE will make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
In the few images available to us right now, the M8 GTE looks nothing less than sinister. The larger than life rear wing looks at home with wide-body wheel arches. The bonnet sports a large air vent (similar to the M6 GT3), while the gaping front splitters are made complete with a wide Kidney grille. The headlamps shall be similar to the road going M8, with BMW new X-style lighting signature. The mirrors are small and unlike any seen on other race cars from BMW. The racing slicks are wider, and the blacked out alloys compliments the sinister appearance. The exhausts are sticking out on the right side of the vehicle. Although no image of the rear is available at the moment, we expect the race car to have large FIA compliant diffusers.
BMW will introduce the M8 GTE in racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in North America next year. Ahead of that, the Bavarian carmaker proposes many more rounds of testing on the European and North American racetracks to make sure the M8 GTE is ready to take on all the challenges before its official racing debut.
Built at BMW’s Dingolfing facility, the M8 GTE underwent the first round of testing on the German racetrack with BMW works driver, Martin Tomczyk and BMW DTM driver, Maxime Martin behind the wheel.
