BMW Motorsport has taken the wraps off its M8 GTE at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, unveiling to the public the car it will campaign in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season.

The car had already been revealed with several photos of it released during an endurance test at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing in July, but it was officially unveiled in a BMW Motorsport livery at the auto show on Tuesday.

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt and factory driver Martin Tomczyk were in attendance for the event.

“The BMW M8 GTE is our new GT flagship and will go head to head with the strong opposition in this sector,” commented Marquardt.

“For us, the presentation of the uncamouflaged car at the IAA is the next important step on the road to our first race outing, which we plan to be the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2018.

“The FIA WEC and the IMSA series in North America are a top competitive environment for our new challenger. With the BMW M8 GTE, we are bringing cutting-edge technology to the top international class of GT racing, whilst at the same time tying in with our tradition at Le Mans.

“The development of the BMW M8 GTE is on schedule, and we can hardly wait to see the car challenging for victories in 2018.”

The car features a four-liter V8 engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology, paired to a sequential six-speed gearbox, and is based on the new 8-Series and M8 road cars.

Next year will mark the German brand’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 2011 with the BMW M3 GT2.

It won the French endurance classic in 1999 with the BMW V12 LMR driven by Yannick Dalmas, Joachim Winkelhock and Pierluigi Martini.

BMW Team MTEK will campaign two cars in WEC and at Le Mans while two other M8 GTEs will race in the WeatherTech Championship with an as-yet-unconfirmed team. BMW Team RLL currently runs the BMW M6 GTLM in the U.S.-based series.