Yes they had ambitious plans for the 8er when it was introduced at the 1989 IAA unfortuntely the recession was just around the corner which unfortunately killing this and the Cabrio model which had the advantage of two varinats than the then new 1989 Mercedes-Benz SL. which was the best sports car in the world at that point- AMG was not part of Mercedes-Benz at this point.
Absolutely loved the 8-Series back in the day. This is the greatest M car that never was. What was the hp on this? M
You must (sadly) be foretelling the future of the CS concept as well. I take it I should not get my hopes up on that one, like yesterday.
Glad everyone likes it. Stay tuned for 50 more photos and some videos. Also, another surprise, an on-off first generation X5 More on that soon.
Indeed a timeless beauty!! I bet, if they start selling it right now, it will easily outsell the current M6 with no worries. It's unique appearance still makes her look young & better-looking than many other current production hyper coupes!
Reason #256 why I'm a fan of BMW: Look at all that carbon fiber underneath the hood! Now, I understand if you say that's not a big deal, but carbon fiber in what might have been a production car that would have debuted in early-to-mid 1990's is pretty outstanding! Also a car with 550 hp at that time would have been epically overkill. Was this V12 the basis for the McLaren F1's 6.1 liter unit? Also why does BMW always plan to debut a large coupe when there's a recession looming ahead? The 8er, the CS....anybody noticing a trend here? The 850CSi was one of my favorite cars growing up....can't wait to see more pics on this car so I can obsess over the details....and Patros, nice job noticing the presence of a B-pillar, you have a good pair of eyes, and an even better memory! :t-cheers:
The M8 has been shown before. I have seen pics on the internet of it. This might be the 'official' premiere, but it's not the first time we see it. And that one-off X5 must be the X5 Le Mans with 700 hp Whoa, never heard of that one before!
I remember the day we pulled the cover's off at the IAA in September 1989 ( I seen Batman the night before) - We had two cars on show one in Red and another in Silver. I know a colleague who still has his 850i from 1990 garaged and completely spotless of course in a goldish silver color. He drives it occasionally and still turns heads. A B-Pillar was created especially for this car to make the structure complete rigid. A mistake learned with the E31 850i with it's lack of a B-Pillar, that when testing this car , Wolfgang Reitzle suggested if sales were justified the 8er was going to be re-engineered to enhance the rigidity when the refresh or next generation came along. That is why modern BMW Coupes always have a B-Pillar - For complete structural rigidity. Cabrio and Roadsters will be the only models without B-Pillars. When you look at the E31 today you can see the progress filtered within today's BMW's such as the nose cone , flared lines above the wheel arches and even the rear lights of the E31 are very reminiscent of the current E92 3er Coupe. The dash especially the driver orientated angled console provides a slight nod of the head to the new 6er Coupe. Although the car has also been brought out in strategy briefings for the new M6. Especially in the admission that some feel the current E63 M6 is somehow a bit to Vanilla to be taken as a serious performance car, something that is hoped to be put right with the next generation car. Although not the first time , but M Division are talking about an additional M6 Variant on the same idea as the M3 GTS , but with more lightweight reductions. When we were looking at the idea of a Premium luxury Coupe for the flagship earlier on this decade a Coupe in the mold of a 8er was looked at and produced for competition. The car that won the competition was the CS as the four door aspect perfectly complimented BMW's line up of sedans and brought something new to the segment. Today our large Coupe remains the 6er a car that has proved more successful than the eight and Z8 combined. There is no plans to accomodate a further large Coupe than the 6er, any other large Coupe will be branded as a Rolls-Royce.
Thanks for Your answer Scott... ... remembering those days with Wolfgang Reitzle and Ulrich Bez ... Patros
M8! That's one fantastic concept. Saw a red 850i today…and was absolutely blown away. Just a gorgeous car… A bit sad with the B-pillar here, since I just love the classy Coupé style without.
