The perfect figurehead!
The news it out, and it’s a re-birth of sorts. A new BMW Safety Car, the first-ever electrified model, has been unveiled, and its making history! The XM Label Red Safety Car, introduced at the 2023 MotoGP season finale, takes over from the BMW M3 Competition Safety Car from last season and is touted as the most powerful road-going M car out there. This new model is poised to take center stage as the MotoGP Safety Car in the upcoming season, making a clear name for itself as the first high-performance car with an electric drive system to lead the field in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.
What we know!
The official introduction and unveiling of the XM Label Red Safety Car took place at the Valencia season finale in a ceremony officiated by BMW M CEO Franciscus Van Meel. The vehicle, which is equipped wth a multitude of safety features tailored for MotoGP, is scheduled to make its debut at the opening round of the 2024 season in Qatar in March.
It features among its attributes, additional flashing front lights, the safety car roof bar, a front splitter, Recaro racing seats, a six-point racing harness and a fire extinguisher. All of this is designed to ensure the upmost safety on the racetrack as well as highlight these various technical innovations.
A true standout of the high-performance automobiles used in the MotoGP, the BMW XM Label Red Safety Car will make its place known on the track in Qatar as the most powerful BMW M automobile there is.
“The first MotoGP Safety Car with an electric drive system is clear evidence of our striving for new, future-oriented technologies,” Van Meel added.
Within the XM Label Red, power is generated via a V8 engine and an e-motor that is integrated in the 8-speed M Steptronic gearbox. The total output from this pairing is 550 kW or 748 hpm, fed to all four wheels via the xDrive system. Considered a very powerful system which results in pure driving dynamics in all scenarios, the Label Red is the perfect fit and the most likely figurehead when it comes to the MotoGP Safety Car.
Among its firsts and its highlights, this XM holds its designation as the first vehicle that relies on an electric drive system to serve as a safety car. It will soon make history at one of the premiere events in motorcycle racing.
The XM Label Red relies solely on BMW’s Active Professional as standard and is comprised of electronically controlled dampers and an active stabilization system. Stopping power is the total of the efforts from the Label Red’s six-piston, fixed calipers on the front and single-piston floating calipers at the rear.
Track ready and the clear choice as the next Safety Car, the XM Label Red is not only reborn as the 550 kW Safety Car, but the perfect fit. See how it stands out!