Remember the BMW M8? Of course you don’t. The German automaker never produced it. Correction: It did make the M8 – emphasis on “the.” One exists in a BMW facility in the German city of Garching as a mock-up of a model nearly set for mass sales.
The 850CSi, which did see the light of customer garages, is a hell of a machine with its 380-horsepower V12. In comparison, the M8 makes it look plain, both visually and statistically.
On the outside, the big coupe has the CSi’s road-holding hips augmented by a wide-body kit. Parts such as the doors, arches and ducts are made of weight-saving carbon fiber-reinforced polymer. Even the 17-inch wheels have carbon fiber overlays. The noticeable vents on the hood feed warehouses of oxygen into an absolutely massive air box underneath.
That gaping maw is connected to a 12-cylinder engine with a dozen individual throttle bodies and approximately 550 horsepower. BMWBLOG states, “Per our sources, the McLaren V12 (a modified S70) and the M8′s … [engine] were likely constructed by many of the same engineers, hence a similar design and output, but differed in areas such as overall length due to the horizontal intakes for a front engine layout if [sic] the 8 compared to the vertical intakes of a mid-engined car. The McLaren engine, from a design standpoint, shared quite a lot of characteristics and parts with the S50 engine of the E36 M3.”
You can check out the ill-fated M8 in the gallery below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
