BMW Should Get Back Into F1 Just To Deploy This Sweet Split Livery

It’s been nearly a decade since BMW last competed in Formula One. But looking at this sweet livery concept, we can’t help but wonder if it isn’t time that the Bavarian marque return.

Penned by livery designer Sean Bull, these renderings show a rather intriguing design for a new BMW grand prix racer. It’s split in black and white up the middle, with the two cars the team would field wearing their colors like a mirror: black with white for one, white with black for the other. And they’re split by the automaker’s signature motorsport colors of blues and red.

The livery is inspired by an M6 GT3 racer that BMW fielded for some of its junior drivers. But to our eyes it looks at least as cool on a modern F1 car, complete with the halo cockpit protection device that features on this year’s competitors.

Dubbed the F1.18, the proposed single-seater would have quite a legacy on which to pick up. BMW last competed in Formula One from 2000 through 2009, first powering Williams and then buying out the Sauber team. It scored a handful of race wins with drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, and Robert Kubica behind the wheel. And it even came close several times to winning the world championship – placing second in the standings in 2002 and 2003, and again in ’07.

Unfortunately the idea stands little chance of becoming reality. At least, not in the foreseeable future. Instead BMW is investing its motorsport energies in Formula E. And while arch-rival Mercedes is fielding teams in both formulae, it had to abandon DTM in order to do so. And it looks like BMW will stay in the German touring-car series for the time being. But if it did return to F1, we hope its challenger would look something like this.