SAFETY FIRST: BMW Appoints the M8 as New MotoGP Safety Car

Although BMW has retreated from a handful of motorsport endeavors of late, there's one that has remained constant since 1999—MotoGP. Okay okay...BMW isn't actually competing in MotoGP, but they're supplying the 2-wheeled series with the brand new M8 as the latest and greatest safety car.

It's one of the first real-world glimpses we've had at an M8 fitted with the gamut of carbon M Performance parts: exhaust tips, engine cover, rear diffuser, front lip, side grilles, and side skirts. The front grilles seem to forego the carbon treatment in favor of some red paint—presumably as a coordination exercise with the livery—though I'm sure there will be a carbon variant for production purposes.

It's pretty cool to know that BMW has been doing this for 20 years, though I'm not sure there's anything that could hold a candlestick flame against the Z8 version from 2002. How cool is this thing?

At any rate, BMW has only had a 4-door safety car a handful of times throughout that twenty year period, so it's perhaps more true to form to see a coupe take the helm here (though I can't help but wonder whether there will be a gran coupe safety car version will come later).

In terms of livery continuity, it's kind of cool to see BMW skin their safety cars in a similar way. The modern geometric interpretation of the classic M stripes is interesting and seems to befit the angular styling of modern BMW cars well. Hopefully we'll see BMW venture into some more motorsport in the near future beyond this capacity! Who else would love seeing BMW make a triumphant F1 return?