While Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin share Safety Car duties in Formula 1, BMW has been the MotoGP Safety Car supplier for a quarter of a century. It’s entering the 26th year this weekend with the XM in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit. To celebrate the plug-in SUV’s arrival in Doha for the season opener, BMW has shot a video at night with the polarizing Label Red version.
The company’s most powerful production vehicle ever follows other recent BMW M cars dressed up for MotoGP Safety Car duties, such as the M2 G87 and the M3 Touring G81. It’s a tradition that started back in 1999 with the Z3 M Coupe (E36/8). The latest entry is substantially different than the diminutive roadster from yesteryear since we’re dealing with a colossus featuring an electrified V8 with a combined output of 748 horsepower.
It has the usual upgrades you’d expect from an official MotoGP Safety Car, varying from extra flashing lights to a fire extinguisher. BMW M also gave it a new front splitter and Recaro seats with a six-point racing harness. We originally saw the special XM Label Red in late November 2023 during the Valencia season finale.
It’s painted in a matte individual color from the Individual catalog, but this Frozen Pure Grey has been combined with a bespoke MotoGP Safety Car livery. Since the XM is based on the Label Red, it has striking red body accents that extend onto the 22-inch wheels. Eagle-eyed readers will notice the subtle Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) logo on the rear pillars. Like all XMs, the BMW roundel is discreetly placed at the upper corners of the rear glass as a nod to the M1 supercar, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.
We can already imagine which new M model will replace the XM Label Red for the 2025 season since logic tells us it’ll either be the M5 G90 Sedan or the M5 G99 Touring. Both are coming out later this year with the same plug-in hybrid V8 as the XM.
Source: BMW M / Instagram
