BMW's most amazing secret. The car they SHOULD have made.

[C53A_4G63T]

In 1990, BMW launched a project that targeted the exotic sportscar and supercar markets.

BMW handed the M division an unlimited budget and one brand new 1991 850i. The result was the M8 prototype.









The S70/1 V12



The M8 was supposed to close the gap between BMW and the supercar group. The Ferrari Testarossa was noted as a particular rival. BMW M was told to go crazy with it.

To reduce weight, the whole body of the car was made of a carbon-kevlar composite. It was similar to the corvette concept, but lighter and even stronger. It was also given a slightly wider body than the standard 8-Series.

The S70/1 V12 that was developed by M for the M8 had 6.0 litres of displacement, and pushed numbers above 550HP. The exact performance numbers were kept secret, and remain such to this day. The only information leaked was that test results indicated that the car was superior to the current Ferrari Testarossa in all aspects.

Unforutunatly, a decline in sportscar sales during the early '90s led BMW to cancel the project. It never made it past the prototype stage(notice this car did not even have headlights.) Only one was ever made and it now sits in some secluded BMW warehouse in Germany. Access to the car is restricted. According to BMW, the car is behind lots of boxes, and awaiting destruction in the near future, as the 8-Series is no longer in production.

When the M8 project was canceled, they slightly modified the S70/1 engine and transplanted it into the McLaren F1.

Although there were no "M8" badged 8ers, BMW did send the 8er for a massage by M. The result was the 850CSi. Although they have no M badge, they are true M cars, with a 5.6l S70 engine and WBS vin number. They are so rare, that even a used high milage car will sell for over 55K.

I really with they had made this. One of the best looking BMW's ever made.

[pfrocker]

a shame...

[SL65]

Just quickly : Whats the source for this?

550BHP back in that day is quite an achievement Such a shame it never it into production. I would have loved to have seen an M8 CSL!!

But why is the one and only car going to be destroyed. I think thats false...I don't see why they'd destroy it. The M8 is the kind of thing that if you put in a museum, people would pay money to see. Why kill it?

[Salar]

8-Series were mostly piece of junks.

And that design is definately not suitable for a supercar. It's a 4-seater, LWB, front engine car.

This is what I call a BMW supercar, and I personally think they should go for a new M1. Don't let Bangel or that Japanese guy design it, though.

[fbc]

I was reading about that not long ago - real shame it never saw production, but at least it's heart lived on in the F1.

As for the M1 -

[jetsetter]

Interesting vehicle.

[Buba]

Funny, because a friend of mine who does an internship at BMW Munich recently t seen it, but other people working there told him...

[un-dee]

There was an M version of the 8-series, they just didn't call it M8, because they thought it isn't sporty enough (the 8 is a pretty heavy beast).

It was the 850CSi, only 1500 were made and it had a 380hp 5.6-liter V12. The engine and suspension were completely made by the BMW M GmbH.

E: Damn, next time i read the article first.

More about it: http://www.e31.net/navmodelle_e.html

[Buba]

That was pretty common though... I know 2 people who had one... One of them only sold it 2 years ago...

[un-dee]

It is THE perfect autobahn cruiser in my opinion, and i really like the look of the 8-series.
There was a stripped out racing 8-er with more than 500hp on mobile once. Must be a great car without all the unnecessary weight. Vewy vewy nice.

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by SL65AMG~V12~612BHP!!!!!!!

Just quickly : Whats the source for this?

550BHP back in that day is quite an achievement Such a shame it never it into production. I would have loved to have seen an M8 CSL!!

The Mclaren F1 engine is an evolution of this motor! (the Mclaren is S70/2).

But why is the one and only car going to be destroyed. I think thats false...I don't see why they'd destroy it. The M8 is the kind of thing that if you put in a museum, people would pay money to see. Why kill it?

Companies do stupid shit. GM has trashed many of their concepts, good and bad ones. A lot of their really awsome stuff, be it concept cars, old race cars, etc.. are locked away in a descrete building somewhere in or around Detroit.

Originally Posted by Salar

8-Series were mostly piece of junks.

And that design is definately not suitable for a supercar. It's a 4-seater, LWB, front engine car.

4-seater, is arguable. Those things in the back may be called seats but I don't think an infant could sit comfortably in those things. Saw one today, and literally NO leg room

[un-dee]

I am not a fan of putting cars in museums. Cars are there to be driven. When it is just gathering dust it doesn't matter if it has 550 or 50 horsepower.

[bone]

^i'm not a fan of idiots crashing one-off cars

i prefer them to be put in a museum, so i can atleast see them one time or another

[triumph]

the 8 serie is one of my big favorit
for me this car looks like the batmobile
it's long wide confortable and powerfull ,to make a long story short it's a really fast cruiser made exclusively for the Autobahn.

Besides you can found a good 850Ci MKI for 7000euros in Germany (compared to 20 000 for a CSI) , the only drawback with the Ci is to found one which isn't an automatic.
In fact it's the type of car I'm looking for when I'll work in Germany .

[jayjaya29]

The old 8 Series is a sweet car. There is still one driving around in my neighborhood and I f-ing love the back end and the aggressive stance of it. The car in the first post is just

[Viper007Bond]

Yeah, there's one in my neighborhood as well. They look great.

Access to the car is restricted. According to BMW, the car is behind lots of boxes, and awaiting destruction in the near future, as the 8-Series is no longer in production.

That's so horrible! They should put thins kinda stuff in a museum! It's a part of their history.

[asianthology012c]

definately should be in a museum....really wished it was mass produced.

[No Boss]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Yeah, there's one in my neighborhood as well. They look great.

That's so horrible! They should put thins kinda stuff in a museum! It's a part of their history.

Viper, keep in mind we don't exactly know where this article came from. So that line, as heart wrenching as it may be, might just be the twisted dreamings of some basement dweller.

[No Boss]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Yeah, there's one in my neighborhood as well. They look great.

That's so horrible! They should put thins kinda stuff in a museum! It's a part of their history.

Viper, keep in mind we don't exactly know where this article came from. So that line, as heart wrenching as it may be, might just be the twisted dreamings of some basement dweller.

And if they do destroy it... who knows, they'll probably bring back the 8-series in the distant future and it will be bigger and better.

/crazier things have happend

[triumph]

who knows, they'll probably bring back the 8-series in the distant future and it will be bigger and better.

it will be hard but if they succeed it will be an achievement just look at that

8)