All week, we’ve been talking about the BMW 8 Series Concept. The stunning looking concept car that BMW has presented us shows off the future design language of the 8 Series and the brand as a whole. While we haven’t seen any real photos of the 8 Series without any camouflage, we can tell that the final production car will borrow many of the design cues from the concept. But since we’ve known of the new BMW 8 Series’ existence, and after seeing this concept, enthusiasts have been begging to know about the upcoming BMW M8. Well, here’s your first look at it.
BMW recently debuted a fully-functioning, yet heavily camouflaged, BMW M8 as part of the support program for the Nürburgring 24-hour race. The M8 on display is a pre-production prototype but it gives us a real hint of what the final car will actually look like. Many typical M car features are present, such as massive front air intakes and quad exhausts.
“The conception and development of the standard BMW 8 Series and the M model run in parallel,” said Frank van Meel, President BMW M Division. “The future BMW M8 will build on the genes of the 8 Series and augment its DNA with added track ability and generous extra portions of dynamic sharpness, precision and agility. It all flows into a driving experience that bears the familiar BMW M hallmarks and satisfies our customers’ most exacting requirements.”
We’ve gotten no specs as of yet, so we don’t know what sort of engine or power figures the M8 will have. We feel as if it could go in one of two directions. It could either get the same S63 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 as the F90 BMW M5 or maybe the same 6.6 liter twin-turbocharged V12 as the BMW M760i. They both make around the same 600 hp, so either way it would be properly quick. The original BMW 850CSi, and prototype M8, had a V12 engine and it seems that as BMW’s flagship it should have its biggest engine. On the other side though, the new S63 V8 is just as powerful and significantly lighter, allowing the M8 to handle better and have sharper steering. So it will be interesting to see which engine it gets. It will be awesome either way, though.
Alongside the standard BMW M8 will come the BMW M8 GTE, the race car that will spearhead the brand’s return to Le Mans. “The BMW M8 GTE development programme for our Le Mans comeback is in full swing,” says BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “Developing a new racing car is always exciting, and in the case of the BMW M8 GTE the anticipation is that much greater still. We can’t reveal any pictures yet, but I can promise you that the BMW M8 GTE will look spectacular. We are planning an initial roll-out for the first half of this year and are looking at giving the car its race debut in the Daytona 24 Hours in late January 2018.”
We don’t know what will power the M8 and we don’t know how it will drive. But we can tell that it will look good. The proportions are all right, the shape is powerful and elegant and many of the details from the stunning concept remain. Needless to say, we’re excited about the BMW M8.
