This year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship begins at the weekend with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The event will see the début of the BMW M8 GTE, run by BMW Team RLL.

Unusually, the race car’s corresponding road-going model – the 8 Series Coupé – has still to be launched, which presented some difficulties for the project. According to Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, “Right from the word go, we worked with our colleagues in production development to synchronise the individual steps as closely as possible.

“It was a challenge. When we needed the first chassis of the production car, there simply wasn’t one yet. We were, however, able to work with special prototype chassis from production development. We progressed step by step in that manner. Furthermore, at the start of our development, there were still minor changes to the production model. To a certain degree, we were dealing with a moving target.”


Measuring 4,980 mm (196.1”) long (excluding the rear wing) by 2,046 mm (80.6”) wide (excluding the door mirrors), the M8 GTE is certainly large. However, thanks to the extensive use of composites and carbon fibre, it weighs just 1,220 kg (2,690 lbs).

Power comes from a turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 with a cylinder block and a cylinder head that are both derived from the production engine’s. An output of over 500 horsepower (around 370 kW) is delivered through a six-speed sequential transmission.


Two cars are going to compete at Daytona. The #24 M8 GTE is being driven by John Edwards, Jesse Krohn, Nick Catsburg and Augusto Farfus, while Alexander Sims, Connor De Phillippi, Bill Auberlen and Philipp Eng are sharing the #25 entry.

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