Photo: BMW
We all know that the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (also known as BMW) was founded in 1916. Even though at first, the German company, made aircraft, over the years they established themselves as the best car manufacturers in the world.
The fans have been waiting for a long time to see their favourite car maker finally release a supercar. BMW's line-up has everything you might want, from small coupes and convertibles (the 1 Series) all the way up to luxurious limousines (the 7 Series) and big, powerful SUVs (The X5 and X6). Only one thing is missing, a supercar.
Not just any supercar. BMW customers are used to having the best car in their segment so, this new supercar, would have to go head to head with the cars like the Audi R8, Ferrari 458 and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
This new supercar is supposedly called M8, at least internally, and is a successor of the old M1. It should be a mid-engined 600 HP beast released "into the wild" around 2016.
Friedrich Nitschke, the Head of BMW's M division, recently proposed that the M8 shared i8's innovative carbon fibre and aluminium chassis, especially since the i8 is going to be released in 2014 so the technology and assembly lines will be already available.
That is where the similarities end. The M8 will probably have a more powerful engine and not the 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre one, mounted on the i8. A twin turbocharged V8, producing around 600 HP (it might even be based on the S63 engine that can currently be found on the M5, M6, X5M and X6M) is more likely to be fitted on BMW's mid-engined model, in order to blow the competition out of the water.
Combined with the super light chassis and incredible aerodynamics, this should bring the 0-100 km/h time down to around 3 seconds and push the car's maximum speed towards 320 km/h (that's of course, if BMW will do the wise thing and not impose a speed limit on its supercar).
If this information will be confirmed, the weight will be around 1200-1300 kgs and the power to weight ration will be well above the competitors'.
A previous attempt at building an M8 took place back in the 1990s, when the 8-Series had a prototype which had a V12 engine, kicking out 580 HP. It had carbon fibre spoked wheels and it was supposed to be the original M8. That project was dropped but hopefully the same thing won't happen to this one, even though, BMWs CEO, Norbert Reithofer is known for not being a natural sportscar aficionado, and preferring the i8 due to its green technology.
Story via CAR Magazine
Not just any supercar. BMW customers are used to having the best car in their segment so, this new supercar, would have to go head to head with the cars like the Audi R8, Ferrari 458 and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
This new supercar is supposedly called M8, at least internally, and is a successor of the old M1. It should be a mid-engined 600 HP beast released "into the wild" around 2016.
Friedrich Nitschke, the Head of BMW's M division, recently proposed that the M8 shared i8's innovative carbon fibre and aluminium chassis, especially since the i8 is going to be released in 2014 so the technology and assembly lines will be already available.
That is where the similarities end. The M8 will probably have a more powerful engine and not the 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre one, mounted on the i8. A twin turbocharged V8, producing around 600 HP (it might even be based on the S63 engine that can currently be found on the M5, M6, X5M and X6M) is more likely to be fitted on BMW's mid-engined model, in order to blow the competition out of the water.
Combined with the super light chassis and incredible aerodynamics, this should bring the 0-100 km/h time down to around 3 seconds and push the car's maximum speed towards 320 km/h (that's of course, if BMW will do the wise thing and not impose a speed limit on its supercar).
If this information will be confirmed, the weight will be around 1200-1300 kgs and the power to weight ration will be well above the competitors'.
A previous attempt at building an M8 took place back in the 1990s, when the 8-Series had a prototype which had a V12 engine, kicking out 580 HP. It had carbon fibre spoked wheels and it was supposed to be the original M8. That project was dropped but hopefully the same thing won't happen to this one, even though, BMWs CEO, Norbert Reithofer is known for not being a natural sportscar aficionado, and preferring the i8 due to its green technology.
Story via CAR Magazine
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