To say the least, the general public has found BMW's design language to be a bit controversial over the past few years, due in large part to its ever-expanding kidney grille up front. Well, it seems BMW has heard everyone's complaints and rectified the situation... sort of. No, vehicles like the 4 Series, iX and XM aren't i7 aren't getting smaller front grilles, but BMW's M Hybrid V8 race car is. That's got to count for something, right?
I know you're probably a bit disappointed, but chin up! This is still interesting stuff, and I'm sure the smaller kidney grille is a welcome addition for many of you. Don't worry, though — it'll retain its BMW Iconic Glow contour lighting, meaning you'll be able to see it from very far away at night. No BMW would be complete without that! To complete the front end, the M Hybrid V8 also gets new headlights and an adjusted splitter to better optimise airflow.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the M Hybrid V8 is now the prettiest car on the grid (that honor goes to either the Cadillac V-Series.R or Alpine A424, but it is certainly an improvement over the old car.
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What's This For?
The new front end is part of an updated exterior aerodynamic design package meant to help the car as it competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
BMW says the aerodynamic updates will unlock two advantages for the car. First, they'll help it perform more consistently across all track layouts. This car has run a lot of IMSA and FIA WEC races up to this point, so engineers have been able to pinpoint certain strengths and weaknesses it has at certain tracks. This new aero package looks to fix some of those weaknesses. The second goal of the airflow upgrades is to improve cooling efficiency.
Apparently, testing and development were carried out between BMW M Motorsport engineers and its chassis partners at Dallara in Italy. After private testing sessions, it's expected that the new-and-improved M Hybrid V8 will make its first public appearance following the FIA WEC "Lone Star Le Mans" race in Austin, Texas, during a joint test at the Circuit of the Americas. If all goes according to plan — including final homologation — its first race will be at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January of 2026.
Listen, I know that this isn't the redone BMW face news you probably wanted, but maybe it's a sign of things to come? I don't know. You can tell yourself that.
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