BMW has been supplying safety cars to MotoGP for 20 years now, and its latest is this M8 Competition. It debuted at the weekend’s race in Austria—where Andrea Dovizioso recorded a vital win to keep in touch with Marc Marquez in the rider standings—thus starting its role in the job partway through a season.
It’s perhaps fitting that MotoGP has employed M Division’s most powerful car yet to work on a grid of 321kph bikes, with the 616hp M8 Comp capable of 0-100kph in 3.2secs and a 299kph top speed.
While the standard car comes with a wealth of tech, including Drift Mode-equipped four-wheel drive and almost all the electronics under the sun, BMW has understandably given it a small makeover for circuit duty.
There’s a carbon-tipped titanium exhaust system to ensure the M8 sounds nearly as good as the bikes around it. A roll cage, fire extinguisher, and race-spec Recaro seats. Cup tires and motorsport-spec hood catches. A ginormous wing nicked from the BMW M8 GTE race car. And last but certainly not least, lots of MotoGP stickers and a whopping great light bar on the roof. Safety’s never looked so aggressive.
The M8 replaces a 592hp BMW M5 on MotoGP marshaling duties, while Formula E now uses a fairly unique BMW i8 Speedster. Yep, BMW really knows how to do safety cars.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
