As BMW gets more and more involved in motorsports, don't be surprised to see some of its cars begin to take after their track-only siblings, including both mechanically and styling-wise. Franciscus Van Meel, CEO of the company's M performance subsidiary, released a teaser image on Instagram over the weekend showing a design element that one of its future road cars will borrow from the Le Mans–oriented M Hybrid V8 prototype racer, and purists may be a little perturbed. Not-So-Mellow Yellow In the caption of the Instagram post, Van Meel says that yellow LEDs are part of BMW's racing DNA, and that they'll soon be hitting the streets. For example, the BMW M Hybrid V8 features a pair of vertically oriented LEDs on each side of the front fascia, serving as headlights. Above them reside the automaker's yellow daytime running lights, a feature that is currently a roadgoing exclusive of CS- and CSL-badged M cars. However, as the teaser shows, the next-generation M3 seems to receive the same lighting treatment as the hybridized racer.It looks as though BMW's two-element lighting signature is going vertical for only the second time in history, the first being the now-departed BMW Z4. Furthermore, the yellow LED accents appear on the shadowy teaser of the future M car, taking the signature slash shape seen on the recently revealed i3 and iX3 electric vehicles and hinted at in spy photos of the next-gen, gas-powered 3 Series. We seriously doubt BMW would release a next-generation M3 CS or CSL in the near future, holding back on a flagship sport sedan until the base M3 has been on the scene for a year or two. That makes us suspect that the automaker will give all of its M cars yellow LEDs going forward, purity be damned. Is There A New Hybrid V8 On The Way? It's unclear whether the car in the teaser image is electric or combustion-powered, but we have a sneaking suspicion it's the latter. And if that's the case, we also wonder if BMW isn't implying there might be a new powertrain under the M3's hood. In last week's spy video of the electric M3 lapping the Nürburgring, we also got a quick look (and listen) at its gas-powered sibling. We noticed an oddly deep bellow coming from its quad exhaust pipes, leading us to wonder if the next-generation M3 would take after its legendary E90 predecessor with V8 power.That could explain why BMW used the M Hybrid V8 in the next-gen M3 teaser, rather than the M3 Touring 24h or M4 GT3 Evo. The P66/3 engine in the endurance racer displaces 4.0 liters and produces 640 horsepower thanks to twin turbochargers and a 67-horse Bosch/Xtrac hybrid motor and gearbox. Freed from the limitations of its racing series, a street-optimized P66 could make around 650 hp all on its own, with hybrid assistance pushing it to 700 hp or more. That would turn the next M3 into an unholy terror, putting the fear of God in its Audi RS 5 and Mercedes-AMG C 53 rivals. Although ditching an inline-six may seem heretical to many M3 fans, the automaker hasn't always been so devoted to the engine layout. The first-generation M3, for example, actually had a high-revving four-cylinder motor, while the aforementioned E90 relied on a shrieking, naturally aspirated V8 that borrowed liberally from the contemporary M5's F1-inspired V10. We'd love to see another eight-cylinder M3 happen, so we'll have to wait and see if BMW meant to imply anything more than yellow LEDs in its latest teaser.
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