Jerez de la Frontera. In their 25th season as ‘Official Car of MotoGP™’, BMW M GmbH is continuing the tradition of providing an extraordinary highlight as the winner’s car in the BMW M Award. The fastest qualifier of the MotoGP™ 2023 will be rewarded with the flagship version of the first BMW M high-performance car with an electrified drive system: the brand-new BMW XM Label Red (combined fuel consumption: 1.7 – 1.6 l/ 100 km; combined electricity consumption: 34.5 – 33.0 kWh/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 39 – 35 g/km in the WLTP cycle; provisional values; figures for the NEDC cycle: –). The exclusive winner’s car for 2023 was officially revealed at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera. The car was unveiled during the traditional ‘Casual Dinner’ hosted by MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports on Friday evening, with Marc Saurina, Head of Global Commercial Partnerships at Dorna Sports, and Steffi Armbruster, Head of BMW M Brand Experience, doing the honours.
The BMW XM Label Red, which made its world debut in Shanghai just a few days ago, embodies an extroverted lifestyle and passion for peak performance. It combines a higher-performance M HYBRID system with individual design accents that unmistakably express its outstanding performance characteristics. A V8 engine and an electric motor integrated into the 8-speed M Steptronic transmission generate a combined system performance of 550 kW/748 hp. Making the BMW XM Label Red the most powerful BMW M model ever made.
“In their anniversary season, BMW M GmbH is once again presenting another really breath-taking car as the winner’s car in the BMW M Award,” said Marc Saurina after the unveiling. “The BMW XM Label Red is a more than impressive vehicle, and with its performance it is the perfect embodiment of what MotoGP stands for. It is terrific that BMW M GmbH consistently emphasises the importance it attaches to the performances of our MotoGP riders. Every year the fastest qualifier is rewarded with the latest flagship in the BMW M fleet, and the BMW XM Label Red is a seamless continuation of this tradition. We are excited to see who will be able to call this extraordinary prize their own at the end of the season.”
“We are delighted to present the new BMW XM Label Red as the winner’s car for the BMW M Award 2023,” said Steffi Armbruster. “Electrifying the drive system of our high-performance cars is an exciting field and the M HYBRID system of the BMW XM Label Red is an impressive testament to that. Our new flagship shows how it is possible to not only preserve the performance characteristics of BMW M models, but also to enrich them with new facets of driving pleasure at the same time. This makes the BMW XM Label Red the perfect winner’s car for the BMW M Award, in which the best motorcycle racers in the world compete to see who will be crowned the fastest overall. We are keeping our fingers crossed for everyone and are looking forward to an exciting race for the BMW M Award 2023!”
The BMW XM Label Red also takes centre stage when it comes to visuals. The powerful proportions of a dynamic Sports Activity Vehicle meet an extroverted exterior design with generous surface areas, clean lines, and a front-end design developed exclusively for luxury class BMW models. On top of this are design accents that highlight the BMW XM Label Red’s individual character, which is geared to maximum performance. High-quality materials and the extravagant design have transformed the interior into an exclusive M Lounge. The BMW XM Label Red also comes with the latest BMW M driver assistance systems.
The BMW M Award has been rewarding the MotoGP™ riders who achieve the best qualifying results since 2003. Riders receive points for their positions in qualifying at each Grand Prix weekend, in line with the scoring system used for the races. The rider with the most points at the end of the season wins the coveted BMW M Award. The BMW M Award record holder is Marc Márquez, who won the award seven times in a row between 2013 and 2019. Francesco Bagnaia added his name to the list of winners for the first time last year.
There was plenty of spectacular BMW M power on display at the start of the race weekend at Jerez de la Frontera on Thursday. BMW M hosted the Drift Challenge, during which the Red Bull Drift Brothers and several riders laid plenty of rubber from various BMW M4 models on the asphalt. Those taking part included Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins and Albert Arenas, who were clearly enjoying themselves at the BMW M wheel.
