M Hybrid V8 Your friendly neighborhood BMW just wrapped itself in Spider-Man

Your friendly neighborhood BMW just wrapped itself in Spider-Man

A one-off livery for the number 24 M Hybrid V8 ties into the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while the car itself is still chasing points at Road America

Écrit par Beau Ackx

29/07/2026

This is not a performance upgrade. It is a one-weekend paint job with a very specific release date to hit

BMW M Team WRT will run its number 24 M Hybrid V8 in a Spider-Man livery for the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, the six-hour IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTP round taking place July 31 to August 2. Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde share the car, and the scheme is a one-off, gone again after this single weekend.

M Hybrid V8 Your friendly neighborhood BMW just wrapped itself in Spider-Man

What the car actually looks like

The regular BMW blue gets pushed toward a darker shade and paired with a heavier dose of red, and Spider-Man's silhouette appears across the bodywork, most visibly on the engine cover. The sister number 25 car, shared by Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann, keeps its standard livery, so this is very much a one-car statement rather than a full factory rebrand.

Why this weekend specifically

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" opens in theatres on July 31, the same day the Road America race gets underway, and the livery is the motorsport end of a much larger BMW and Marvel/Sony tie-in. The new iX3 and 5 Series both appear in the film itself, BMW Welt in Munich has a one-off iX3 Flow show car with animated E Ink Prism body panels on display through September, and compatible BMW owners in more than 70 countries can unlock a Spider-Man startup animation on their own cars. The livery is the smallest, most visible piece of a campaign that otherwise lives in showrooms and software updates.

The championship race underneath the costume

Strip away the webbing and this is still a factory GTP entry with real stakes. Vanthoor won the 6 Hours of São Paulo in FIA WEC earlier this year, and Van der Linde took BMW's first Hypercar victory at Spa, so the pairing arrives at Road America with form. BMW M Team WRT currently sits sixth in the IMSA GTP standings with three rounds left, and the marque took a 1-2 finish at this exact race last season, which makes the special livery a costume worn by a car still very much racing for points, not a novelty entry padding out the grid.

Not the only fancy dress at Road America

BMW is not alone in dressing up for the weekend. Porsche Penske Motorsport is running its own special livery at the same event, part of what has become a fairly normal IMSA habit of using a marquee summer enduro as an excuse for one-off paint jobs across multiple manufacturers.

A Belgian face behind the mask

Dries Vanthoor's involvement gives this a genuine home angle: a Belgian factory driver, fresh off a WEC win, spending his IMSA weekend in a car that looks like it wandered out of a comic book rather than a wind tunnel.

AutoNext Take

Movie liveries are usually harmless fun and forgotten a week later, and this one probably will be too, but the detail worth noting is that BMW put its marketing moment on the car actually fighting for GTP points rather than a spare show car. That is either confidence that Vanthoor and Van der Linde will perform in fancy dress just as well as in plain blue, or proof that a factory programme can multitask better than most people assume. Either way, expect the paint job to get more attention than the championship point on Sunday, and expect BMW to be entirely fine with that trade.

Follow us on Google News

Set AutoNext as your preferred source on Google Discover

Ferrari a gagné à COTA, mais l'histoire, c'est la Toyota qui menait à 12 minutes de la fin
Motorsport
07/09/2026

Ferrari a gagné à COTA, mais l'histoire, c'est la Toyota qui menait à 12 minutes de la fin

Ferrari a décroché sa première victoire de la saison en WEC aux 6 Heures de COTA, la n°50 AF Corse 499P héritant des commandes lorsque la Toyota n°7 en tête a subi une panne hydraulique à environ 12 minutes de la fin. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina et Nicklas Nielsen se sont imposés devant la Cadillac de JOTA et l'Alpine A424. Les deux co-leaders au championnat, la Toyota n°7 et la BMW WRT n°20, sont repartis bredouilles, relançant la lutte pour le titre, tandis que l'Aston Martin de Heart of Racing a gagné en LMGT3.

Lire l'article complet
Lotus's China-only Emeya 900 Gold undercuts Germany by €43,000
Performance & Supercars
07/09/2026

Lotus's China-only Emeya 900 Gold undercuts Germany by €43,000

Lotus has launched the Emeya 900 Gold in China at 918,000 yuan, about €117,700, with the same 918 hp, 985 Nm and 2.78 seconds to 100 km/h as the Emeya 900 sold in Europe. The carbon-bodied European equivalent starts at €160,990 in Germany. The Eletre 900 Gold does the same at 928,000 yuan.

Lire l'article complet
Geely's 1,800 kW charger is three times Europe's 2027 legal minimum
Electric Cars & Technology
07/09/2026

Geely's 1,800 kW charger is three times Europe's 2027 legal minimum

Geely UK managing director Michael Yang told Autocar the group is developing a charging facility in China rated at 1,800 kW, with completely solid-state cells a few months away. European law asks 400 kW of an entire motorway charging pool today, and 600 kW from the end of 2027.

Lire l'article complet
Jaguar Land Rover's 4,000 job cuts set break-even at 300,000 cars
Automotive Industry
07/09/2026

Jaguar Land Rover's 4,000 job cuts set break-even at 300,000 cars

JLR told staff and unions on 5 September that it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management roles, without naming a figure. The Times and the Financial Times both put it at up to 4,000 posts over two years, around 12% of a 34,000-strong UK workforce. The company wants 1.7 billion pounds of savings and a break-even point of 300,000 vehicles a year.

Lire l'article complet
Half of America's BMW M2s are manual, and Europe never gets asked
Performance & Supercars
07/09/2026

Half of America's BMW M2s are manual, and Europe never gets asked

BMW M chief Frank van Meel says half of all M2s sold in the United States leave with a six-speed manual, and that figure is why the M3 CS Handschalter exists. It is rear-wheel drive, manual-only, and built for North America alone, starting at $108,450. The gearbox behind all of it stops at 480 hp and 550 Nm, and that ceiling decides how long the manual M car lasts.

Lire l'article complet
Kimi Antonelli won at Monza from 19th, ending Italy's 60-year wait for a home hero
Motorsport
06/09/2026

Kimi Antonelli won at Monza from 19th, ending Italy's 60-year wait for a home hero

Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza from 19th on the grid, leading a Mercedes one-two over George Russell with Max Verstappen third, and became the first Italian to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. After a red flag for Charles Leclerc's crash and a run of battery-driven lead changes, a well-timed virtual safety car helped Antonelli to victory by 3.857 seconds. It extends his championship lead to 66 points ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid.

Lire l'article complet
Hyundai's nine-seat Staria Electric costs less than a seven-seat ID. Buzz
New Models
06/09/2026

Hyundai's nine-seat Staria Electric costs less than a seven-seat ID. Buzz

Hyundai has opened order books for the Staria Electric, and the nine-seat Trend starts the range at 57,450 euros in Germany with 430 km of WLTP range and an 800-volt system that charges from 10 to 80 percent in 20 minutes. Belgian orders open this month.

Lire l'article complet
Peugeot is handing Doriane Pin her first Hypercar test, and it is a real audition
Motorsport
06/09/2026

Peugeot is handing Doriane Pin her first Hypercar test, and it is a real audition

F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin, 22, will drive the top-class Peugeot 9X8 for the first time in a private test at Paul Ricard on 2 December, as Peugeot assesses whether the development driver could step up to a reserve role. Pin set the fastest LMP2 qualifying time at Le Mans this year and led the class for three hours before a brake failure. Team boss Emmanuel Esnault says it will be a proper assessment with realistic ballast, and it is not a bid for a full-time 2027 seat.

Lire l'article complet
BMW's Art Car tour ended in Munich, and five now live on your windscreen
Automotive Industry
05/09/2026

BMW's Art Car tour ended in Munich, and five now live on your windscreen

BMW Welt closed the only exhibition that has ever gathered all 20 BMW Art Cars, drawing more than 120,000 visitors in 34 days. It ended an 18-month world tour that ran to 60 stops and over two million visitors. Five of the cars now live on as selectable widgets on BMW's Panoramic Vision display, and they all come from the same six-year stretch of the collection.

Lire l'article complet
Loek Hartog stopped mid-race to pull Ollie Millroy from a burning Ferrari
Motorsport
06/09/2026

Loek Hartog stopped mid-race to pull Ollie Millroy from a burning Ferrari

Ollie Millroy's Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo caught fire after being hit side-on in Saturday's opening China GT race at Shanghai. Loek Hartog stopped his Porsche, ran over, took a fire extinguisher from a marshal and pulled the Briton out before the fire crew arrived. Millroy escaped with five broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a bruised lung. His team has quit the championship in protest.

Lire l'article complet
Laguna Seca named the Corkscrew after Zanardi, 30 years after The Pass
Motorsport
06/09/2026

Laguna Seca named the Corkscrew after Zanardi, 30 years after The Pass

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has renamed Turns 8 and 8A the Zanardi Corkscrew, honouring the two-time CART champion who died on 1 May at 59. The dedication came 30 years after Alex Zanardi's final-lap pass on Bryan Herta at that corner, a move that put his inside wheels in the dirt and that today's track-limits rules would punish. The permanent monument exists so far only as a rendering.

Lire l'article complet
Venuum has given Ferrari's 812 a widebody makeover, and only 35 will be built
Performance & Supercars
05/09/2026

Venuum has given Ferrari's 812 a widebody makeover, and only 35 will be built

Design house Venuum has revealed the 812 Titan X, an all-new widebody reinterpretation of Ferrari's front-engine V12 812 grand tourer, limited to just 35 examples worldwide. Every surface is reimagined for a wider, lower, more aggressive look, with a redesigned aero package and more sculptural bodywork, while the naturally aspirated V12 is left untouched. Venuum has not disclosed price or full specifications, but it is a genuinely rare, design-led take on one of Ferrari's most beautiful modern cars.

Lire l'article complet
Land Rover's new army Defender is up against Ford, Toyota and Ineos
Automotive Industry
05/09/2026

Land Rover's new army Defender is up against Ford, Toyota and Ineos

Jaguar Land Rover revealed the Defender Wolf Series II and confirmed a bid for the British Army's Light Mobility Vehicle contract. It is competing against a militarised Ford Ranger, a Toyota Land Cruiser 70, an Ineos Grenadier and a Chevrolet Colorado. The first tranche is 3,000 vehicles, and the minister wants them off the shelf.

Lire l'article complet
Tesla's Cybercab skipped the exemption Zoox spent a year getting
Electric Cars & Technology
05/09/2026

Tesla's Cybercab skipped the exemption Zoox spent a year getting

Tesla began paid Cybercab rides in Austin with a two-seater that has no steering wheel, no pedals and no brake fluid, and it got there by certifying its own compliance rather than applying for the exemption Zoox needed eleven months to obtain. The NHTSA opened an audit the next day. Europe has no self-certification at all, and its legal route caps a driverless car at 1,500 per type per year.

Lire l'article complet
Bugatti's Tourbillon V16 cleared 72 decibels without a single fake note
Performance & Supercars
04/09/2026

Bugatti's Tourbillon V16 cleared 72 decibels without a single fake note

Bugatti has closed the acoustic development of the Tourbillon's naturally aspirated 8.3-litre V16 and confirmed that nothing reaching the cabin is synthesised. The car had to pass a homologation test with a 72 decibel ceiling, the highest bracket in European noise law, measured across the whole vehicle including its active rear wing. Bugatti's own press release notes that type approval has not been granted yet.

Lire l'article complet
Mick Schumacher lost his seat, then signed for the Indy 500 winners
Motorsport
04/09/2026

Mick Schumacher lost his seat, then signed for the Indy 500 winners

Meyer Shank Racing has signed Mick Schumacher to drive its number 66 Honda in the 2027 IndyCar season, alongside Marcus Armstrong. The move follows Rahal Letterman Lanigan selling one of its charters to Dreyer & Reinbold in July, which cut the team to three cars and left Schumacher without a seat. He replaces Felix Rosenqvist, who won this year's Indianapolis 500 for MSR and leaves for Arrow McLaren.

Lire l'article complet
Volkswagen's 50,000 job cuts passed unanimously, and four plants got until 2027
Automotive Industry
04/09/2026

Volkswagen's 50,000 job cuts passed unanimously, and four plants got until 2027

Volkswagen's supervisory board unanimously approved Future Plan 2030 on 3 September, covering around 50,000 job cuts group-wide and a model range cut in half by 2035. The four German plants named in last week's leaked report were not closed. The board acknowledged it cannot currently secure work for them, and gave itself until the end of June 2027 to decide.

Lire l'article complet
Lamborghini's new Temerario Polizia is really a 920 hp organ courier
Performance & Supercars
04/09/2026

Lamborghini's new Temerario Polizia is really a 920 hp organ courier

Lamborghini has handed a Temerario to the Italian State Police, the sixth car in a partnership that began with a Gallardo in 2004. The 920 hp hybrid will be used for emergency organ and medical transport alongside the Huracán and Urus Performante already in service. Across more than twenty years the fleet has run over 200 organ missions and appeared at more than 1,500 road safety events.

Lire l'article complet
Xiaomi signed eight German dealer groups, including one that sells Ferraris
Automotive Industry
04/09/2026

Xiaomi signed eight German dealer groups, including one that sells Ferraris

Xiaomi Auto confirmed at IFA Berlin that it will start selling cars in Germany and other European markets in 2027, and signed memorandums with eight German dealer groups to build its retail and after-sales network. The list includes Emil Frey, Europe's largest dealer group, which announced a separate distribution deal with Lucid in France a day earlier, plus Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari retailers with more than a century of trading behind them.

Lire l'article complet
Alpine's Gasly loses his Monaco podium 89 days after the race
Motorsport
04/09/2026

Alpine's Gasly loses his Monaco podium 89 days after the race

Pierre Gasly has lost his Monaco Grand Prix podium for the second time, 89 days after the race. The FIA's International Court of Appeal reinstated the pitlane speeding penalties that stewards had rescinded in June, all of it stemming from a 77-centimetre error in the pitlane timing loops. Isack Hadjar inherits third, and Alpine loses nine championship points.

Lire l'article complet
US carmakers want Chinese cars banned. Waymo has imported 3,200 Zeekrs
Automotive Industry
04/09/2026

US carmakers want Chinese cars banned. Waymo has imported 3,200 Zeekrs

American carmakers have asked Congress for a permanent ban on Chinese connected vehicles before the session ends on 3 January. Waymo meanwhile runs its newest robotaxi cities on a Zeekr built in Ningbo, imported as a bodyshell and fitted with its electronics in Arizona. More than 3,200 chassis have already landed.

Lire l'article complet
The Jensen Interceptor is back after 60 years, and it swapped elegance for 1,200 hp
Performance & Supercars
04/09/2026

The Jensen Interceptor is back after 60 years, and it swapped elegance for 1,200 hp

Jensen International has revived the Jensen Interceptor as the track-only GTX, 60 years after the 1966 original. It uses a supercharged 6.8-litre V8 built by Late Model Engines, making 960 hp as standard and up to 1,200 hp with more than 1,491 Nm, paired to a Samsonas six-speed sequential manual that can be shifted by lever or paddles. With a hand-formed aluminium body, an FIA cage and full motorsport hardware, the GTX is a proof of concept for road-going Jensens to come, though price, weight and production numbers are not yet confirmed.

Lire l'article complet
Lucid is coming to France, and it has found a local partner to help it get in
Automotive Industry
04/09/2026

Lucid is coming to France, and it has found a local partner to help it get in

American luxury EV maker Lucid is entering the French market through an operational partnership with Emil Frey France, one of the country's largest automotive groups. Lucid keeps control of its brand and commercial strategy through its own import organisation, while Emil Frey provides operational support, and the Lucid Air and Gravity will be shown to French buyers for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in October. It is a smart, low-risk way for a newcomer to enter a crowded premium market.

Lire l'article complet
Skoda's Peaq covered 936 km on one charge, at under 40 km/h
Electric Cars & Technology
06/09/2026

Skoda's Peaq covered 936 km on one charge, at under 40 km/h

Skoda drove a standard Peaq 90 for 936 km from Mladá Boleslav to Zandvoort on a single charge, with TÜV SÜD supervising. The car beat its own 647 km WLTP rating by 289 km on 86 kWh of usable battery, at an average of 9.2 kWh/100 km. It left at midday on Tuesday and only finished the run on Wednesday afternoon.

Lire l'article complet
Formula 1 is cutting every grand prix to 290 km in 2027
Motorsport
04/09/2026

Formula 1 is cutting every grand prix to 290 km in 2027

Formula 1 has agreed to cut the maximum grand prix distance from 305 km to 290 km in 2027, a change Motorsport.com reports went to the teams by email and still needs World Motorsport Council ratification. The reason is fuel: the power split moves to 58:42 in favour of the combustion engine, and the tank cannot grow to match. It would be the sport's first shortening since 1958.

Lire l'article complet