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BMW has a near-20-year history of supporting the Moto GP motorcycle racing series and it typically provides the safety cars for the championship, one of the most recent examples being the M4 Moto GP Safety Car, which eventually morphed into the super-limited M4 GTS.
Well, here’s the latest version - and it’s a stickered-up, flashing-lights-toting iteration of the new M5, which Shane drove in a preview event just a few months back. That means those super-fast bikers will be trying to keep pace with a twin-turbo, 4.4-litre V8 with 600hp/750Nm and M xDrive all-wheel traction. Crikey, we know the bikes are fast but… seriously, BMW! Give them a chance!
Power goes to all four wheels of the M5 Moto GP Safety Car via an eight-speed M Steptronic gearbox with Drivelogic, leading to a 0-100km/h time of a scarcely believable 3.4 seconds. This is also the first M5 to benefit from a carbon fibre-reinforced plastic roof from the factory. The Moto GP machine will make its debut at this season’s Moto GP finale in Valencia, Spain, on November 10-12, before taking the lead of the safety car fleet during the 2018 season.
It was M Manufaktur in Garching which did the work in converting a, um, ‘base’ M5 into the Safety Car, and many of the items fitted come under the category ‘M Performance Parts’, which means this is a rolling showcase for a number of expensive extras you can fit to your 2018 road-going M5, once you’ve actually had it delivered. These include the side sills, rear diffuser, rear spoiler, front kidney grilles, door mirror caps and air breather slats. The BMW M Performance sport exhaust system is made of titanium with carbon fibre tips, although it is optimised specifically for track use here.
Further detailing which is bespoke to the M5 Moto GP Safety Car (for now…) includes a prototype front splitter, bonnet latches taken directly from motorsport competition, bucket seats from the aforementioned M4 GTS, a flat light-bar of LEDs on the roof (which is controlled from a modified instrument panel inside), flashing blue LED lamps in the kidney grilles and flashing corona rings for the headlamps, and a livery inspired by the M8 GTE, which will take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.
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"A Moto GP safety car faces enormous challenges," said Frank van Meel, president of BMW M GmbH. "It is vital to lead a field of unique, high-performance race prototypes safely through all sorts of conditions. Innovative motorsport technology is an essential part of this. The new BMW M5 forms the perfect basis for a safety car, as its technical features ensure perfect handling, even at the limits of driving dynamics - on the road and on the racetrack. Development never stands still in Moto GP, which is always pushing its limits further and further. The same is true for the BMW M GmbH - and the new M5 Moto GP Safety Car is an outstanding example of our pursuit of innovation and maximum levels of performance."