Just recently, we speculated what a bespoke M car might be like, an M car not based on any series production BMW. M Division CEO Markus Flasch recently said it was actually likely such a car will exist in the future but gave no hints as to what it could be. We’d heard some whispers that it could be a potential BMW X8 M, an SUV entirely unique to the M Division. While we didn’t have any concrete evidence, it not seems as if our sources are correct.
According to this new report from Automobile Magazine, a BMW X8 M is currently in the works and it’s going to be a sort of crossover between the BMW X6 and M5 Competition. I know, have fun wrapping your head around that one. According to this report, the upcoming X8 M is internally called “Project Rockstar” and it’s going to be a hybrid SUV from BMW M only.
It’s still said to be powered by the brand’s 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8, which will likely develop around 600 hp. However, paired to that V8 is said to be an electric motor and some batteries to help it make upwards of 750 hp. That’s an extraordinary amount of power and would qualify the BMW X8 M as the most powerful production Bimmer in history.
The excitement doesn’t stop there, though. Because the BMW X8 M will be an M Division product, its on-road behavior is far more important to it than anything else. So there’s a chance that it could get the same all-wheel drive system as the current BMW M5, which would give it a rear-wheel drive mode. While doubtful, due to its hybrid powertrain, imagine a 750 hp hybrid SUV with just rear-wheel drive? It’d be an absolute terror to drive. It’d be brilliant, sure, but terrifying as well.
[Source: Automobile]
