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BMW M8 GTE Shows Up in Rolex 24 Livery

Just two days before the start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, BMW Motorsport presented the M8 GTE in the colors it will wear during the race. This weekend's event is a prequel of the projected return of BMW to the Le Mans 24h race.
BMW M8 GTE for Rolex 24 12 photos
Photo: BMW
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The two cars that will enter the race will be driven by BMW Team RLL pilots and will mark a premiere for the German carmaker: the first time a race car will see action before its production version counterpart.

As announced earlier this week, the M8 GTE is powered by a 4.0-liter, eight cylinder TwinPower turbo engine with an output of 500 hp. Paired with the powerplant is a six-speed sequential motorsport gearbox, operated via an electric paddle shift system.

“The first race for the new BMW M8 GTE at Daytona will be very special for every one of us at BMW Motorsport,” said Jens Marquardt BMW Motorsport Director (full interview with Jens Marquardt is attached at the end of this article). “At the same time, the possible return to Le Mans brought its very own fascination for our team.”

“Now the BMW M8 GTE is ready for Daytona. For the first time in BMW Motorsport history the race car will be in action before its series counterpart.”

The M8 GTE has been developed at the same time with the BMW 8 Series Coupe, previewed on Wednesday by the German manufacturer in a series of official "spy" photos. For the production version, the 8 series will employ both six- and eight-cylinder powerplants.

Although official information about the engines is not yet available, they will probably include the 3.0-liter six-cylinder variant and the 4.4-liter, 600 hp V8. An even more powerful, 6.6-liter twin turbo V12 is also rumored to make it into production, as well as a plug-in hybrid derived from the current 7 Series.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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