The
M8 - a singular 8er
Almost forgotten and its
existence denied, climaxing in the rumour that it was destroyed long
ago, the M8 magically appeared before the eyes of UK BMWCar journalists
early in 2010 and was on display locally a few times in 2011. The M8
was built to race but the project eventually abandoned with the engine
concept living on in the legendary McLaren F1.
It had another cameo
appearance at the BMW CCA "Legends of the Autobahn" concours in
Monterey, CA (USA) in August 2012.
According to the cheat sheet of an M-GmbH engineer the kerb weight of
the M8 is 1492 kgs - whether this includes the driver and/or petrol is
unknown but it goes to show that even the drastic weight saving
measures applied for the M8 did not make the car a featherweight.
Some confusion exists
regarding the material mix of this one off body shell. Most of the
chassis was made from Aluminium alloys (riveted sheets) and only the
rear quarters and boot stem from a standard 8-series body. Above is a
diagram showing the material mix that can be found on the M8.
Fact Nbr 9 -
2012-08-20