The Lausitzring was the venue for the first official test of the all-new BMW M8 GTE in mid-July 2017. Martin Tomczyk and Maxime Martin shared driving duties in the cockpit of BMW Motorsport’s challenger for the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Outings in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in North America are planned for the newly-developed car in 2018. Before then, the BMW M8 GTE will undergo many more tests at racetracks in Europe and North America to ensure it is ideally prepared for its race debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) in January. The highlight of the 2018 WEC season will once again be the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA).

Its silhouette is low and sleek, with aggressively flared rear haunches and the massive air breather from the concept. The hood is long and the deck is short, as a proper GT car should be. While its size might not be perfectly ideal for WEC racing, BMW did okay with the M6 GTLM. The M8 GTE should be lighter, sharper and better in every way.

With the BMW 8 Series being one of the most exciting cars to come from Bavaria in a very long time, we’re just as excited to see the BMW M8 GTE.

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kln6vwMoHO8″ width=”640″ height=”360″]

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