25 years after our last victory, we don’t want to just be part of the race. We want to lead it. We want to get on the podium.
CEO of BMW M GmbH
Twenty-five years after its first overall victory in Le Mans, BMW is returning to the top class. For the first time since 2017, the company M GmbH is sending another Art Car to the track. The Hypercar BMW M Hybrid V8, designed by the American artist Julie Mehretu, is now the 20th of its kind and part of a long tradition of rolling works of art that have made their way to the starting line at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Appropriately enough, the Art Car is driving with the start number 20. The BMW M Team WRT is sending the pilots Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Robin Frijns (NED) and René Rast (GER) into the race in this beauty. A second BMW M Hybrid V8 sporting the famous Livery in M colours is participating; Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Marco Wittmann (GER) and Dries Vanthoor (BEL) will be sitting in its cockpit.
5 POWERFUL FACTS:
- V8 twin turbo engine with electric drive
- 471 kW (640 hp) at 8,200 rpm
- Torque: 650 Nm
- 350 bar high-pressure direct fuel injection
- Vmax ca. 345 km/h
THE MOTHER OF ALL RACES.
The 24-hour race in Le Mans, known as “24 Heures du Mans”, is a motorsport legend and a symbol of the human spirit of invention, technical innovation and unremitting competition. Since it was first held in 1923, the race has become one of the world’s most prestigious and iconic events in motorsport. From the very beginning, it has stood for continually pushing the limits of what is technically possible. Today more than ever, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a platform for innovative technologies.
7 LE MANS RECORDS
- 1. Highest speed ever recorded: 405 km/h in 1988
- 2. Percentage driven at full speed: 70 to 85
- 3. First time the average speed exceeded 200 km/h: 1955 (203.015 km/h)
- 4. Highest average speed in the race: 246.463 km/h in 2010
- 5. Highest average speed in qualifying: 251.882 km/h in 2017
- 6. Longest distance driven: 5,410.713 km in 2010
- 7. Longest term for a record to stand: 32 years
ALL RECORDS AT A GLANCE.
ARENA OF INNOVATIONS.
The hosts of the FIA World Endurance Championship wanted to give sustainable drive technologies a home via the Hypercar class, which was introduced in 2021 and strives for a balance between performance and efficiency. The BMW M Hybrid V8 is an excellent example of this idea and clearly shows BMW M Motorsport’s commitment to a sustainable future in motorsports. The vehicle represents the next generation of hybrid technology and combines powerful combustion technology with highly developed electric drive engineering.
ROAD TO LE MANS.
The golden age of prototype racing has only just begun. After the extremely competitive jubilee season of 2023, the top class of LMDh Hypercars at Le Mans is reaching a new record level.
A total of 19 Hypercars will be competing in the 2024 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship – and in Le Mans there are even 24 of them. In other words: never before has the competition been as tough as it is during this edition of the endurance classic. Alpine, Isotta Fraschini and Lamborghini are now competing in the top class alongside BMW. And then there is also the line-up of existing competitors from past years, which essentially amounts to an unparalleled who’s who in the world of cars. Rarely has the world of motorsports awaited a race with so much excitement.
For almost 50 years, we have been cooperating with artists who are just as fascinated by mobility and design as they are by technology and motorsports. Placing Julie Mehretu’s art on a racing car is an exceptionally strong contribution to our series of BMW Art Cars.
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
PERFORMATIVE ART.
The New York artist Julie Mehretu, who is responsible for the concept behind the 20th BMW Art Car, called the racing work of art a “performative painting”. After all, it was created for a race course, not a museum. This Art Car is the most recent addition to a long tradition. The first BMW Art Car, which was made by the “kinetic” artist Alexander Calder, participated in 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1975 and gave the starting signal for an unparalleled connection between art and motorsport – one which BMW continues to this day with enthusiasm and inspiration. Previous Art Cars that have competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans include the 1976 BMW 3.0 CSL by Frank Stella, the 1977 BMW 320i Turbo by Roy Lichtenstein and the 1979 BMW M1 by Andy Warhol. Not to mention the Le Mans victor from 1999 – the BMW V12 LMR by Jenny Holzer – and the 2010 BMW M3 GT2 by Jeff Koons. Julie Mehretu’s BMW M Hybrid V8 is a logical addition to this renowned collection.
Preparations for this year’s race were intense, involving extensive test runs and simulations. During the process, BMW benefited from its wealth of experience in Formula 1 and endurance racing. The engineers and technicians in the team worked together closely to ensure that the BMW M Hybrid V8 could master all the challenges on the legendary course at Le Mans, including the high-speed sections and technically demanding curves.
