Roarington
Stories

Cars

Broken Dreams: BMW M8 Prototype. Too extreme to be true

29 June 20251 min read6 images

The 1990 BMW M8 Prototype was a secret 550hp V12-powered beast, hidden for 20 years and never released due to corporate caution.

Broken Dreams: BMW M8 Prototype. Too extreme to be true
Photo credit: BMW, Wheelsage

The M8 Prototype, built in 1990, is one of the most mysterious cars in the history of motoring, having remained hidden for 20 years until 2010 when BMW decided to show it to selected journalists.

Broken Dreams: BMW M8 Prototype - 1
The 6,064cc V12 engine of the BMW M8 that produced 550hp and was used as the starting point for the development of the McLaren F1 engine, released in 1992.

Based on the 8 Series E31, it was equipped with a 6,064cc V12 engine called S70, capable of producing somewhere in the region of 550hp, and from which the engine of Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1 (S70/2) was derived.

Related Stories