BMW recently unveiled the M Hybrid V8 LMDH racer, and while people were expecting a new V8 at the center of BMW’s LMDH (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid) endurance racecar, the company has revealed that they are using an older V8. Will use the engine that was designed for BMW’s 2017 – 2018 M4 DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) car.
BMW had several ideas, one of which was using the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 used in the BMW M8 GTE, but that unit was too heavy. He also considered a turbocharged four-cylinder engine to be used in the 2019 M4 DTM car, but didn’t think it would last the duration of the endurance race. In the end, BMW reused an old naturally aspirated V8 engine for this job, and there were several reasons for this. One of the most important reasons was that it was the engine that “most closely matched the regulatory requirements after conversion to a hybrid turbo engine”.
Then why not build a brand new engine from scratch? Well, doing so would have cost BMW a lot of money, and to the idea, Ulrich Schulz, head of drivetrain design at BMW M Motorsport, said “to design an entirely new engine and build it at great cost.” To return to the drawing board was not an option”.
BMW made many changes to the engine. The first of which was adding a twin-turbo to the NA V8 mill and adjusting the crank drive, then adjusting it to the Dallara chassis of the LMDH car, remodeling the cylinder heads and blocks, and completely rebuilding the injection system . Then, with the help of its former Formula E team, BMW integrated the electric motor, inverter and battery, making it a hybrid power unit.
The result was a regulated 631 bhp and 650 Nm of torque (standard for the LMDH class) from a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that can spin up to 8,200 rpm! BMW has confirmed that testing of the racecar will begin “immediately”, and the car will go on to race in the 2023 season of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.