BMW M8 will be a 'Porsche Turbo killer'
M boss tells Aussie journalists that high-performance coupe will take 'M' ethos to new levelMarkus Flasch, recently appointed president of BMW's M Division, has revealed in a teleconference with the local motoring press that the BMW M8 will be more than just a coupe version of the M5.
Questioned whether BMW M would build a 'hypercar', Flasch admitted that the company's performance division had been pushing for such a model over a number of years – and had not given up yet – but there is "no concrete plan, nothing that I can confirm..."
For the moment at least, the M8 will be the flagship of the range, Flasch said, and the BMW exec was quick to quote journalists who had driven the car already to place it in the proper context.
"The first journalists that have driven this car compare it to the Porsche Turbo; they call it 'a Porsche Turbo killer'," Flasch revealed.
"This car is the ultimate performance machine that we will offer."
Subsequently, Flasch confirmed that although the M8 will feature essentially the same powertrain as the M5 (although a Competition version of the M8 promises even higher engine output from the 4.4-litre turbocharged V8), the M8's chassis tuning and mechanical details will be markedly different. There will be, for instance, two settings for brake-pedal feel – a development from BMW's work on brake-by-wire technology for an autonomous motoring future.
"The brake-by-wire system is a necessary basis for autonomous driving systems, and we've taken this system as it there anyway – off the shelf – and developed it further and gave it this character..."
Flasch also provided other details in which the M8 will be markedly different from the M5.
"The centre of gravity in M8 is 24mm lower than the M5. You also sit lower in an M8, so for ergonomics, it's also different.
"We even made the front much stiffer and the steering... feels different."
On that subject, Flasch ruled out four-wheel steering for the M8, but did reveal that the new coupe is already expected to set a new benchmark for the M division.
"The M8 will be the fastest ever BMW M Car on the Nurburgring Nordschleife [northern loop]," he said.
The M8 will make its global debut later this year.
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