BMW 8 Series Coupe to be Unveiled at Le Mans

The BMW 8 Series coupe will launch later this summer, a day before the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race begins.

The race is the perfect place to launch the car, argues BMW, since its sister car, the M8 GTE endurance racer, will take to the track the next day to campaign against the world’s best at the fabled 24 hour race.

“There isn’t [sic] be a better setting for the world premiere of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe than the 24-hour race at Le Mans,” says Klaus Fröhlich, head of development. “The race is a pure demonstration of passion, dynamics and long-distance capability. These characteristics define our new sports car in a special way.”

SEE ALSO: Photos of BMW 8 Series’ Interior Leak Ahead of Debut

And the resemblance is more than skin deep. BMW says it took lessons learned on track and applied them to the M850i. These include the intelligent all-wheel drive system, the controlled rear axle diff lock, integral active steering, the adaptive M suspension with active roll stabilization and more.

Endowed with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, we expect the M850i to make something like 530 hp sending power to all four wheels through an 8-speed auto.

The car will be officially unveiled on June 15 and on the 16th the M8 GTE will be the first BMW on the starting grid at Le Mans since 2011.

A version of this story originally appeared on Bimmerfest.