BMW's M Division is celebrating its 15th year of providing MotoGP's safety car of choice with a new M6 Gran Coupé doing the honours at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
Unveiled in Detroit earlier this year, the M6 Gran Coupe gets the job done with a high-revving V8 that pushes 412kW and 680Nm through the back wheels.
According to its maker, the coupé-like four-door will pounce from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds.
The Safety Car version of the BMW M6 Gran Coupe has been specially modified for its use as a pace car out on the racetrack, although they are remaining secretive about what's actually being done to the car.
The M6 is backed up by five other MotoGP cars from the M and M Performance divisions; these being the M5 sedan and M6 Coupé that are also performing Safety Car roles, an M3 for the Safety Officer and two M550d xDrive Touring models that will be used as medical cars.
Certain riders also get the privilege of owning an M car through the annual BMW M Award, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
The award is presented at the end of each year to the rider with the best overall qualifying record. Previous winners include Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo.