This is a V8-powered BMW 1M racer

This is a BMW 1 Series M Coupe that seems to have been sent to a Darth Vader School Of Finishing, where young, naïve upstarts are mentally broken down, stripped to their inner core and rebuilt as machines of vengeance.

This is no ordinary BMW 1M. First, there are fibreglass wide arches, carbon diffusers, six-pot AP racing brakes, paddle-shift six-speed ‘box, and an ultra-low 3-way Ohlins suspension.

And gone, too, is the fantastic 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six. That bonnet now welcomes a 6.2-litre Chevy V8 producing an indecent 550bhp, sitting inside a tubular steel chassis. All that remains of the original 1M is that unsmiling face.

French racing outfit GC Automobile will contest this ‘GC10-V8' 1M at next year's 24hr of Dubai. There, it will attempt to harness the force...

Images courtesy of Jonsibal