BMW's Already Out Testing Its New M8 GTE

The promise of a new 8 Series has Bimmer fans salivating – and BMW being BMW, you can bet that there'll be numerous variants as well: coupe, convertible, M8 performance version, and yes – even a racing version.

BMW Motorsport gave us our first taste of the forthcoming M8 GTE with a teaser sketch just yesterday, and as you can see, it's wasting little time in putting it to the test on track.

Built to challenge the top GT racers in the world, the M8 GTE is set to compete not only in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – replacing the current M6 GTLM – but also in the LMGTE class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. That includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Bavarian automaker is set to field a factory team for the first time in six years.

It'll face stiff competition, however, from the likes of the Porsche 911 RSR, Ferrari 488, Aston Martin Vantage, Ford GT, and Corvette C7.R – all vying for top honors. We'll look forward to seeing how it fares on its race debut come January at the 24 Hours of Daytona. But in the meantime you can get an idea of what BMW is working on in the images below, showing a rather sinister-looking prototype running around the EuroSpeedway Lausitzring.

The East German circuit has long hosted DTM tin-top racers, Superbikes, and even Champ Cars once upon a time, but will soon to close its gates to the public and carry on as a private test track for German regulatory firm Dekra.