BMW returns to Le Mans with the M8 GTE in 2018

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Created on January 25, 2018

Text:

Daniel Reinhard, translated by DeepL

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

MAC Museum Art & Cars

BMW AG

Bruno von Rotz

Courtesy Goodwood FoS 2016

BMW Group

Evro Publishing

McLaren / Werk

McLaren Automotive Limited

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

MAC Museum Art & Cars

BMW AG

Bruno von Rotz

Courtesy Goodwood FoS 2016

BMW Group

Evro Publishing

McLaren / Werk

McLaren Automotive Limited

Archiv

BMW V12 LMR (1999) - Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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BMW M1 (1979) - a masterpiece by Andy Warhol

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McLaren F1 GTR (1995) from the Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing team - winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17 and 18, 1995

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Overall winner 24 Hours of Le Mans 1995: the #59 McLaren F1 GTR with Yannick Dalmas - JJ Lehto - Masanori Sekyia

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McLaren F1 GTR (1995) - the winning car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Bild von Partner Porsche AMAG Mai Foto-Galerie 2026

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BMW V12 LMR (1999) - when sports prototypes were still allowed to be beautiful - 100 years of BMW

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BMW V12 LMR (1999) - another Le Mans winner

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BMW V12 LMR (1999) at Le Mans Classic 2014

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BMW 3.0 CSL Turbo as an art car by Frank Stella at Le Mans 1976 - Photo from the book "Brian Redman" by Evro Publishing Verlag

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BMW with the three BMW 328s at Le Mans 1939 - BMW took first, second and third place in the 2-liter class

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BMW 328 (1939) - Le Mans 1939, Team BMW 328

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BMW 328 (1939) - Aerodynamics tests on the Le Mans Coupé by Carozzeria Touring

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BMW M1 Procar Group 4 Art Car by Andy Warhol at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1979

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BMW M3 GT2 (2010) - a masterpiece by Jeff Koons

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BMW M3 (1989) - a masterpiece by Michael Jagamara Nelson

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BMW Z1 (1991) - a masterpiece by A. R. Penck

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BMW 320i Turbo (1977) - a masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein

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Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 - Special show by BMW - Art Cars - Andy Warhol's BMW M1 from 1979

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BMW V12 LMR (1999) - Jenny Holzer was responsible for the painting of this Art Car

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Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 - Special show by BMW - Art Cars - Alexander Calder's BMW 3.0 CSL

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Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 - Special show by BMW - Art Cars - Roy Liechtenstein's BMW 3.0 CSL

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BMW 850 CSI (1995) - David Hockney painting the Art Car

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BMW M8 GTE (2018) at Le Castellet during the first major test for the 24-hour classic at Le Mans

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McLaren F1 GTR (1995) vom Team Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing - Sieger bei den 24 Stunden von Le Mans am 17. und 18. Juni 1995

Gesamtsieger 24 Stunden von Le Mans 1995: der #59 McLaren F1 GTR mit Yannick Dalmas - JJ Lehto - Masanori Sekyia

McLaren F1 GTR (1995) - der siegreiche Wagen bei den 24 Stunden von Le Mans

BMW V12 LMR (1999) - als Sportprototypen noch schön sein durften - 100 Jahre BMW

Their last two major appearances in the Sarthe were also quickly rewarded with overall victory.

BMW's overall victories at Le Mans

For example in 1995, when the McLaren F1 GTR with the BMW S70-6.1 liter V12 won the overall classification of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with drivers JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya.

Overall winner 24 Hours of Le Mans 1995: the #59 McLaren F1 GTR with Yannick Dalmas - JJ Lehto - Masanori Sekyia

BMW then developed the BMW V12 LMR with the help of Williams and its second outing at Le Mans in 1999 brought the coveted overall victory.

BMW V12 LMR (1999) - Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

It was the race with one of the largest ever factory entries in the prototype class, with cars from Toyota, Audi, Nissan and a Ferrari on the grid alongside BMW, while Mercedes withdrew early after the two rollovers in practice with the CLR.

The BMW entered by Schnitzer Motorsport and driven by Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini and Yannick Dalmas finished first after 365 laps thanks to its solid basic performance, great reliability and low fuel consumption.

The engine used in the BMW V12 LMR was the already victorious and well-proven S70-6.1 V12 from the McLaren F1.

BMW V12 LMR (1999) - Jenny Holzer was responsible for the painting of this Art Car

Further BMW entries at Le Mans

Of course, the Munich-based company also competed in Le Mans beforehand, achieving 11th place overall in 1973 and 10th place in 1976 with the 3.0 CSL Coupé, as well as 6th place in 1979 and 14th place in 1980 with the BMW M1.

BMW 3.0 CSL Turbo as an art car by Frank Stella at Le Mans 1976 - Photo from the book "Brian Redman" by Evro Publishing Verlag

And of course, the Munich-based company's history at Le Mans goes back much further, because for the 1939 24 Hours of Le MansBMW had the 328 converted by Milan coachbuilder Touring into an aluminum coupé in Touring's patented "Superleggera" (super-light) design. The particularly thin body panels of the body were welded to a tubular lattice frame. This expensive construction method - aluminum was a very expensive material before the Second World War and was also difficult to weld - was nevertheless used on many racing cars at the time.

In the race, the two relatively unknown steering wheel heroes Max zu Schaumburg-Lippe and Hans Wencher took fifth place overall and won the class up to 2 liters displacement.

BMW with the three BMW 328s at Le Mans 1939 - BMW took first, second and third place in the 2-liter class

The "Art Cars" from BMW

BMW has also caused a great visual stir on various occasions since 1975 when it competed with the so-called "Art Cars". These were racing cars painted by world-famous artists such as Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Jenny Holzer, Jeff Koons and various others.

BMW 320i Turbo (1977) - a masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein

Andy Warhol was also involved, opting to paint the M1 "in the style of an abstract expressionist with fields of rainbow colors" in 1979. It is said that Warhol wanted to finish the paint job in 5 minutes, but the film crew present asked him for an extension. So he put his signature on the car 23 minutes late.

BMW M1 Procar Group 4 Art Car by Andy Warhol at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1979

The last Art Car driven by BMW at Le Mans was the BMW M3 GT2, which finished 6th in GT2 at the 24-hour classic in 2010 and was driven by Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and Uwe Alzen.

BMW M3 GT2 (2010) - a masterpiece by Jeff Koons

BMW at Le Mans 2018

Now we can only hope that when the M8 GTE returns to Le Mans on June 17, 2018, it won't be forced to run late like Andy Warhol.

BMW M8 GTE (2018) at Le Castellet during the first major test for the 24-hour classic at Le Mans

The whole BMW history at Le Mans

Year	BMW racing cars	Comment
1937	3 x BMW 328	1 works car
1939	3 x BMW 328	3 works cars
1953	1 x BMW 328	Raymond Chalut-Natal
1957	1 x BMW 507	did not start
1961	1 x BMW 700S	Christian Faucher
1972	1 x BMW 2800 CS	#49 Team Schnitzer
1973	3 x BMW 3.0 CSL	2 works cars and #58 from Wicky
1974	2 x BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW Jolly Club and Jean-Claude Aubriet
1975	2 x BMW 3.0 CSL 1 x BMW 2002 Ti	Heidegger drove the 2002
1976	4 x BMW 3.5 CSL 3 x BMW 3.0 CSL	3 of the 3.5 CSL were works cars
1977	1 x BMW 320 3 x BMW 3.0 CSL	2 from Luigi Racing
1978	1 x BMW 3.0 CSL
1979	1 x BMW M1 1 x BMW March M1	Walter Brun did not start
1980	4 x BMW M1 1 x BMW March M1
1981	4 x BMW M1 Gr.5 2 x BMW M1
1982	2 x BMW M1 Gr.5 1 x BMW M1
1983	1 x BMW M1
1984	2 x BMW M1
1985	3 x BMW M1
1986	3 x BMW M1
1993	2 x BMW M5	both did not start
1995	McLaren F1 GTR	Overall victory with BMW engine
1998	2 x BMW V12 LM	works car
1999	2 x BMW V12 LMR 2 x BMW V12 LM	Overall victory 2 LMR works cars
2000	1 x BMW V12 LM
2010	2 x BMW M3 E92	works car
2011	2 x BMW M3 E92 GT	works car
2018	? x BMW M8 GTE	works car