How BMW fed legendary heritage into its latest M-Sport attack
When BMW’s new M-Sport Hybrid V8 took to the track at Daytona, observant fans were quick to spot some subtle but significant reflections of the brand’s legendary past – both in the radical new machine and in the pit lane mechanics.
The German manufacturer, which has competed in almost every form of motorsport from the World Rally Championship to Formula 1, returns to the pinnacle of sports prototype racing this year in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona was the first time a works-run BMW endurance machine had taken to the track since the BMW V12 LMR in 1999, when Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini and Yannick Dalmas clinched overall victory at Le Mans.
It was the first step in a full-blown return to the FIA World Endurance Championship next season and another attack on Le Mans – and the new contender’s aggressive styling, drawn from every corner of BMW’s back catalogue, was unmistakable.
The car is designed to IMSA’s new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class regulations and at the introduction of the car’s full livery last September, IMSA President John Doohan said: “[GTP] opened up the possibility for design and styling to enable more for the brand.
“Even though it’s a prototype car, it emulates the GTs so you could drive up to an M5 or M4 and recognize the brand, the family. When I explained to the designers that they had the opportunity to design a racing car, they were like kids in art class.
“Men and women who design street cars now have the opportunity to design the ultimate [machine] and BMW is certainly in contention for the best looking of the bunch – from the lighting to the design, the styling cues to the lines – it’s the ultimate expression of the BMW brand.”
#24 BMW Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus, Marco Wittmann, Colton Herta
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
The radical integration of the company’s corporate face – the giant kidney grilles – was hard to miss, while the brand’s Hofmeister kink also joined the design cue party, appearing at the window at an aggressive angle that lets it stand proud.
But it’s not just the car that has received the design treatment – as PUMA, as a long-time licensing and team partner of BMW M Motorsport, has designed a shoe line that looks the part too, with a radical new design that copies the same styling cues as the car.
Dubbed ‘BMW M Motorsport LGND’, the shoes combine inspiration from classic BMW design and PUMA’s Speedcat line, and feature M-inspired chrome accents, adaptive reflective materials and even a T-toe shape that complements the aggressive bonnet -Design reflects.
The shoes even feature the world-famous Hofmeister kink which, just like BMW’s kidney grille, is a design signature found on every car model since the advent of the BMW Neue Klasse.
The shoes are available for fans and with this attention to detail in every area it is clear that the brand means business in the world of endurance racing, with the ultimate goal of getting their riders’ boots onto the podium in the world’s greatest endurance race Shopping mall.
This season, the IMSA Championship will be a proving ground for the LMDh and their high-performance drivers. The opening weekend marked another important milestone in the history of BMW M-Sport, but that was just the beginning.
The exclusive BMW M Motorsport patent leather version of the new sneaker, featuring the famous tricolor “M” stripes, is available now in selected PUMA stores and online at puma.com.