If you thought the bog-standard BMW M8 is already fast, wait till they unleash the M8 Competition.
When BMW announced that they were bringing back the 8-series, everyone who waxed nostalgic for the 8-series of the 90’s were taken by surprise and delighted about the news. Then someone leaked that there would be an M version of the 8-series with even more power, and most thought that was the end of the story, until today. As per our friends over at Bimmer Post earlier this week (Oct. 15, 2018) it looks like BMW is really stretching out the lineup for the BMW 8-series ready to unleash an even more powerful, lighter, and raw BMW M8 competition. An official-looking document showing an M8 competition badge is what we have to work with. Nevertheless, it looks pretty official to me.
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As it stands, regular M850i’s get BMW’s 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 that has a healthy 523 HP and 553 lb-ft. This new BMW M8 competition should surely snag a version of BMW’s most powerful 4.4L twin-turbocharged V8 already doing work in the M5 competition. In that guise, power comes in at a whopping 617 HP and 553 lb-ft, a massive amount of torque delivered at an extraordinary rate in what is basically a grand-tourer.
Like competition models before this M8 competition, expect bespoke carbon fiber parts will be all over this M8 competition.
While the ZF 8-speed automatic is already a gem of a transmission already slated to join the new 8-series and its twin-turbo engine, I wouldn’t be surprised if BMW swapped in one of its seven-speed dual clutch automatics just to get faster shifts and a more raw experience although the M5 competition makes do with its 8-speed auto.
Look for this M8 competition to ride just a little lower by a couple of mm’s, for the springs and dampers to be tweaked and throw in a stiffer anti-roll bar as well. Those rubber bushings… expect BMW to replace them with solid ball joints.
What results should be one of the most direct and aggressive handling M8’s the world will ever know.
The regular M8 is for cruising. This M8 competition will be a supercar sleeper that can carve canyon roads all-day despite its titanic size.
Source: BMW Blog
