A new teaser for the BMW M LMDh race car offers our first look at the actual race car, rather than showing a rendering. Unfortunately, the photo of the competition machine puts it in shadow, which limits what we can see.
Looking closely, there are angled headlights on the outer edges of the front end. The top of each fender has louvered sections, and the side mirrors have a sharp shape. A scoop is directly above the cockpit. At the rear, a wing spans nearly the vehicle's entire width.
The entire center section of the body is covered in shadows, but some work in a photo editor reveals more details (above). You can see the outline of the large inlets on the front, and the creased bodywork ahead of the cockpit.
An earlier teaser (below) shows a rendering of the M LMDh, and it gives us a significantly better look at the nose. The race car has massive grille openings, which gives the vehicle a connection to road-going BMW models with flared nostrils like the latest M3 and M4. There's also a prominent front splitter.
There are no technical details available about the M LMDh available, including its engine configuration. The rules of the class mandate a hybrid powertrain.
According to our colleagues at Motorsport.com, Dallara will supply the BMW M LMDh's chassis. Track testing of the car will begin in 2022, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will campaign two, factory-backed machines starting at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2023. The German automaker will then enter the machine in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
BMW will try to find at least one customer team for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the US and FIA World Endurance Championship, in addition to the factory-supported teams competing in those series.
The M LMDh will face lots of competition in the class. For example, Porsche has its entry deep into development and is already conducting track testing. Acura, Cadillac, and Lamborghini are working on entries, too.
