The BMW M8 is a bittersweet story of ambition and unrealised potential.
The Nineteen Eighties have been an period of extra, the place extravagant existence led to equally outrageous vehicles. The race for the title of ‘world’s quickest automobile’ pushed the boundaries of engineering because the supercar market boomed.
Porsche’s 959 and Ferrari’s F40 broke the 200mph barrier, whereas aftermarket beasts like RUF’s CTR Yellowbird and the Callaway Sledgehammer hit 217mph and 255mph, respectively.
This want for pace ramped up within the Nineteen Nineties, with new challengers like Jaguar’s XJ220, Lamborghini’s Diablo, and Bugatti’s EB110 coming into the combo. BMW M, already famend for creating a few of the greatest high-performance highway vehicles, wished in on the motion and set to work.
M GmbH’s objective? To remodel BMW’s flagship E31 grand tourer right into a bonafide supercar, one that may not solely rival however beat its competitors and solidify BMW’s identify on the very high finish of the automotive business.
The E31 was a superb place to begin. With a drag coefficient of 0.29, it was extra aerodynamic than the Porsche 959, XJ220, and even the McLaren F1. BMW’s M division additional refined the design with a bespoke physique equipment and bumpers, vast field flares, and compact mirrors, to not point out the elimination of pop-up headlights – a change pushed by aerodynamics and engine bay packaging.
In 1992, BMW launched the 850CSi, the E31’s flagship mannequin, outfitted with a 5.6-litre, 380hp S70 V12. However that engine paled compared to the M8’s.
The S70/2 within the M8 was developed as the last word model of BMW’s V12. Although it shared the identical fundamental block design, the M8’s engine featured customized cylinder heads and internals that turned the graceful CSi engine right into a quad-cam, dry-sump, 640hp thoroughbred.
To place that into perspective, the Bugatti EB110 in SuperSport spec produced 603hp, and probably the most highly effective Diablo GT delivered a mere 575hp.
It’s not simply energy and appears that set the M8 aside from the everyday E31. To shed weight, the M engineers used glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) for the doorways, boot lid, and that vented headlight-free bonnet.
Contained in the M8, consolation made method for efficiency: the plush entrance seats have been changed by Recaro Pole Positions with distinctive M-pattern upholstery, and the rear seat was eliminated altogether. Each driver and passenger have been secured by Sabelt harnesses.
The eagle-eyed amongst you may discover the M8’s stable B pillars. E31s have been all pillar-less coupés, however with 640hp being despatched by way of a 6-speed Getrag guide gearbox and Nineteen Nineties-era tyres, the choice to bolster the chassis made good sense.
Regardless of the M8 prototype’s overwhelming potential, I’ll by no means forgive BMW for not placing it into manufacturing. And sure, I admit, my disappointment is deeply private.
That is a kind of uncommon moments after I can’t totally separate my feelings from my commentary as a result of the E31 holds a particular place in my coronary heart. Why? My mom has owned her E31 840Ci Sport since I used to be 10.
Seeing that shark-nosed form for the primary time blew my thoughts. To my younger eyes, it was a supercar. As I grew older, I understood that the 8 Sequence was a grand tourer, however I at all times noticed the potential for one thing far higher – a automobile that would have grow to be a real Bavarian icon.
The M8 is only one extra in a protracted record of ‘almosts’ which have shadowed BMW for many years – comprehensible, maybe, after the monetary failures of the 507 and M1. However this one feels completely different. The M8 might have been unbelievable, a real-world-beater.
The E31 M8 will ceaselessly stay a prototype, its full potential a thriller. Nonetheless, I firmly consider it will have proven the world that BMW was king.
Mario Christou
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Images by Alen Haseta
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