Autosport is reporting that BMW will introduce an entirely new car to the United SportsCar Championship in the 2016 model year. With the Z4 marching towards the end of its lifecycle most had assumed BMW would fill the void with an M4 derived race car. However Autosport is reporting that BMW is actually looking at basing its next car on the much larger and more powerful M6.

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It’s an interesting choice and one that we find puzzling for a couple reasons. For one if you think the E92 M3 looked large out there against the 911s and the 458s, wait until you see the M6. Then there’s the fact that BMW would be putting one of its lowest volume cars in such a great marketing spotlight. Granted that didn’t stop them from developing the Z4 which hasn’t sold in healthy numbers for years.

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So why not the M4? Autosport reports that BMW intends to keep the M4 exclusive to DTM – the pinnacle of sedan based racing in their eyes. What about the forthcoming M2? In our minds the M2 would be an ideal choice but we’re guessing BMW Motorsports intends to make the M2 the cornerstone of its international GT3 program. Still we’d love to see a GT3 based M2 dicing through traffic against the Ferraris and Porsches across the best tracks in the US.

Why the M6? One of the answers according to sources – the M6 offers enormous aero benefits over the Z4 and anything else in the line-up. And make no mistake, some competitors have enjoyed these advantages for years.

One thing is certain. The M6, while an amazing vehicle would take some getting used to seeing on the track.