In a meeting on 10^th June 2021, the BMW Group Board of Management gave the green light for BMW M Motorsport to enter a new era of racing, the LMDh prototype class. From 2023, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will compete for overall victories in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and from 2024, the first BMW M Motorsport prototype since the legendary BMW V12 LMR will race in the FIA World Endurance Championship and return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans – exactly 25 years after the last BMW victory at the most famous endurance race in the world.

Continuing the BMW M Motorsport success story on the racetrack is only one driving force behind the BMW M Hybrid V8. The development of the first high-performance hybrid powertrain by BMW M makes the BMW M Hybrid V8 the flagship project for the transformation of BMW M cars towards electric mobility. It showcases the aim of the developers to not only preserve the unmistakable performance characteristics of BMW M models, but at the same time enrich them with new facets of driving pleasure. Driving a BMW M car, be it on the road or on the racetrack, will always remain an emotive experience, also with hybrid or fully electric powertrains.   

The Management Board’s decision in favour of the LMDh project kicked off a very short and intensive development phase. BMW M Motorsport chose Dallara as chassis partner and decided which combustion engine to use as the base model for the hybrid powertrain. The roll-out of the BMW M Hybrid V8 took place on 25^th July 2022 on the Dallara test track at Varano de’ Melegari followed by an intensive test programme, first in Europe and from September 2022 in North America, where BMW M Team RLL will race with two cars in 2023. During a launch event at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles on 22^nd September 2022, the works livery and the drivers for the 2023 IMSA season were presented to the public.

While BMW M Team RLL will race the BMW M Hybrid V8 in North America from 2023, BMW M Team WRT will prepare for the debut of the car in the FIA WEC in 2024.