Of the four nominated chassis suppliers, BMW – like Cadillac – has opted to go with Italian manufacturer Dallara, while Porsche will use Multimatic-supplied underpinnings and Acura has partnered with France’s Oreca.
Manufacturers have free reign over the design of their cars, however, and BMW has opted for a look which nods heavily to both its current road cars and celebrates the 50th anniversary of its performance division.
“The prototype is clearly recognisable as a BMW M car”, said the firm, highlighting the oversized kidney grilles on the front end – which channel air to the mid-mounted V8 – as well as the ‘hook’-style wing mirrors, distinctive rear light designs and even a side graphic which mimics the firm’s trademark Hofmeister kink.
The racer’s camouflage – to be swapped for a sponsored livery in time for its competitive debut – contains references to some of the M division’s most successful race cars of the last half-century, including the 1976 BMW 3.0 CSL, 1981 BMW M1, 1986 BMW GTP and the more recent BMW M8 GTE.
Michael Scully, global automotive director of BMW Group Designworks, said: “My team’s job was to make the BMW M Hybrid V8 look like a BMW, and embrace every opportunity to make it also perform like one on the race track.