BMW Teases us with the upcoming M8

It felt like almost yesterday that BMW announced the BMW Concept 8 Series and here we are, BMW has started the tease fest. The upcoming BMW M8. Mate? M Eight. Still, no real design looks but we can definitely guess how it may turn out to be. Instead, BMW is going to continue teasing everyone with an early prototype of the BMW M8 at the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

The prototype shows what we might expect from an M car. Large air intakes, large brakes and a sports exhaust with 4 tail pipes. Definitely, something one would expect from an M car. The 8 Series was dubbed as a gentleman’s racer, so what can we really expect from the M8? A brutal sense of power coupled with elegance or are we expecting a somewhat refined like drive like on the M6. The M5 and M6 are two different beasts and if the M8 is slowly going to take over the M6 Coupe (no idea yet), what is the M8 competing against?

“The conception and development of the standard BMW 8 Series and the M model run in parallel,” explains 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 trackability 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.”

Development is also underway of a race-spec car – the BMW M8 GTE – to spearhead the return of BMW Motorsport 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.”