BMW Reveals The Turbo V8 Heart Of Its Le Mans Hypercar

BMW has begun testing the BMW M Hybrid V8,the name of the brand's WEC Hypercar Class entrantthat BMW will take back to Le Mans. At the heart of the hypercar sits a hybrid V8 engine, and this is no ordinary V8 like the one you'd find in theBMW M5 CS.

BMW has ready fired up the engine, which was based on the DTM engine used inthe BMW M4 DTM carbetween 2017 and 2018. Of course, the engine, which BMW has dubbed the P66/3, needed quite a lot of adjustment to be fit to run in the world's most famous endurance race.

One of the biggest adjustments is that the engine is now a load-bearing component. That means the motor is not only needed to power the car, but also to keep the car from rattling itself apart. That also saves weight, as it can be used in a monocoque chassis without an additional subframe. As an aside, BMW also considered the four-cylinder turbo from another M4 DTM car and the V8 turbofrom the BMW M8 GTE car.

"It is a huge plus that we were able to make use of existing materials such as steel and aluminum from BMW's time in Formula 1 for the basis of the engine, as well as for individual components - like shafts, housing, and small parts. That saved us time and a lot of money and was therefore efficient and sustainable. Efficiency is a critical factor for this project, as we have a very short period of time available between getting started and the first racing appearance at Daytona in 2023," said Ulrich Schulz, Head of Drivetrain Design at BMW M Motorsport.