BMW XM Label Red Selected As 2024 MotoGP Track Safety Car

The manic BMW XM Label Red super-PHEV SUV has been selected as the official track safety car for the 2024 MotoGP championship

BMW has been the official car of the MotoGP championship for the past quarter century, where numerous BMW M performance models have been selected as the track safety car during the grand prix. With the 2023 season finally coming to an epic conclusion, MotoGP has decided to finally reveal its latest official safety car, which will be used for the 2024 MotoGP championship, in the form of the BMW XM Label Red super-SUV.

Replacing the BMW M2 safety car, the new XM track safety car comes draped in a stylish matte grey hue that blends well with the red highlights and accents that come standard in any XM Label Red model. As per any prior BMW MotoGP safety cars, this XM Red Label has also been wrapped in exclusive MotoGP safety car livery.

Aside from the new MotoGP livery, the XM safety car has also been equipped with a slew of essential gears

More importantly, the XM safety car has been equipped with a slew of essential equipment to help fulfil its task. For the exterior, the XM safety car comes equipped with mandatory flashing lights on its roof, a new front splitter, and a roof rack. More additional equipment can be found inside the car, which includes full Recaro bucket seats with six-point racing harnesses, a fire extinguisher, as well as a whole new radio communication system.

While some might question MotoGP’s decision to pick the XM instead of other BMW M sportscars for its new safety car, it is important to note that the XM is the most powerful car the M division has ever produced. This manic super-SUV houses a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain setup comprising a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 mill and an electric motor to deliver a combined output of 748 HP and 1,000 NM, allowing it to blast from nought to 100 KM/H in just 3.8 seconds – a rather crazy feat for a sub-3-tonne SUV.

BMW M divison boss Franciscus van Meel (right), posed alongside the new BMW XM Label Red safety car with Dorna Sports (MotoGP) CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta (left)

Furthermore, BMW M boss Franciscus van Meel added that the selection of the XM as MotoGP’s new safety car is a rather logical step, with said model being the most potent M car BMW has ever made.

“It is a logical step for the most powerful BMW M automobile we have ever rolled out to be the new figurehead of our safety car fleet in MotoGP. The first MotoGP Safety Car with an electric drive system is clear evidence of our striving for new, future-oriented technologies,” the BMW M boss added.

While picking a performance SUV as an official safety car for a top-tier motorsport championship is something we’ve never heard of, numerous championships across the globe have enlisted SUVs as part of their official safety car fleets. For example, Formula One (F1) has been using the Aston Martin DBX707 super-SUV as its official medical car since 2022, while the main track safety car role is commissioned for both the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.