It was developed in late 2016 and made its competitive début in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2018 season, and thus marking BMW Motorsport's return to 24 Hours of Le Mans after a six-year hiatus.

The car was unveiled on 12 September 2017 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Germany.

[6] BMW began the development, design, and construction of the M8 GTE in mid-2016.

The first chassis was assembled in June 2017, with the first vehicle completed in July.

The BMW M8 GTE programme utilizes several cutting-edge technologies and concepts, such as Additive Manufacturing[7] for rapid prototyping of components, as well as a transaxle, integrating the transmission, driveshaft, and axle assembly into a single unit, balancing mass front to rear.