We finally finished up our article on it after BMW nonchalantly dropped it on everyone during a press junket about, of all things, their future micro city cars and other "green" initiatives. Horatiu of BMWBlog was working to get this article turned around and I chipped in a little to help compile all of the information into one spot.
The M8 Prototype was rumored to have 550HP - though that's never been officially confirmed. The car was pared down to the basics - manual controls, lightweight seats and materials, alcantara interior and a six speed manual. The car was ultimately sidelined due to the economy and the United States having only a lukewarm reception to the initial E31 850i. Even after the Bavarians introduced the cheaper 840i with a version of the M60/2 V8 sales did not grow tremendously.
This thing was the pinnacle of M GmbH and it was aborted at the absolute last minute. It's legacy? A few old "press" photos of a complete car floating around for 15 or so years and a heavily detuned version in the guise of the 850CSi. What a shame this wasn't available.
The video is below comes from an iPhone 4 as Horatiu didn't have a video camera on him. First foray into editing film since completing one film project in high school. That said, constructive criticism is welcome as I'd love to improve upon it.
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