BMW M Motorsport has revealed the plans for their 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship programme.
The first images of the LMDh car testing in Italy were released a couple of months ago, but since that test, the cars had been shipped to the US, where the testing continued.
The team presented their colours for the upcoming season, and the drivers onboard the BMW M Hybrid V8 cars for the BMW M Team RLL outfit.
The classic M colours of red, blue and white are present, with some black areas on the car as well.
Photo: BMW Motorsport
Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly will be racing one of the cars, while Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus will share the other throughout the full 2023 season in the USA. The cars will run numbers 24 and 25, which is the tradition for the team.
Additional drivers are needed for the four endurance races. Colton Herta is the only driver announced for that so far. The rest will be announced in the near future.
The car has a 4 liter V8 Twin Turbo, in a 90 degrees V. The chassis is built by Italian Dallara, while the engine is developed by BMW.
The car will compete in the USA in the new GTP category, which is the IMSA designation of the top category, just like the FIA WEC calls it Hypercar.
The focus throughout 2023 will be on IMSA, with a FIA World Endurance Championship programme being added in 2024, when WRT will run in the Hypercar category, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be the 25-year anniversary of the overall win for BMW in the French classic.
The car will be on the track with all its competitors after the Petit Le Mans event in one and a half weeks’ time, when the first collective GTP test at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is held.
All data on the car looks like this:
Data on the BMW M Hybrid V8 chassis.
| Length | 5,100 mm |
| Width | 2,000 mm |
| Wheelbase | 3,150 mm |
| Minimum weight | 1,030 kg |
Technical data on the BMW M Hybrid V8 P66/3 engine.
| Type | V-shaped Otto four-stroke twin-turbo engine |
| Capacity | 3,999 cc |
| Number of cylinders | 8 |
| Cylinder design | Cast aluminium cylinder block and cylinder head, cylinder lining as iron layer in LDS procedure |
| V angle | 90 ° |
| Bore | 93 mm |
| Stroke | 73.6 mm |
| Cylinder spacing | 102 mm |
| Valves per cylinder | 4 |
| Engine speed | max. 8,200 rpm |
| Output (regulated) | approx. 640 hp |
| Torque | approx. 650 Nm |
| Injection | High-pressure direct injection at 350 bar |
| Oil system | Dry sump system with six-cell oil drain pump and oil tank |
