Coming Soon: BMW M8 Competition

What is it?

Competition variants are a performance enhanced version of a normal M car. What’s odd about the upcoming BMW M8 Competition being spied fully unclothed this month is that the car could be officially unveiled in production form before the normal M8 arrives. It seems the Comp variant of M cars is becoming the norm, with the M3 and M5 Competition arriving as more polished versions of the originals, and the M2 replaced with an M2 Competition model exclusively.

Shown undisguised in photos leaked onto the internet last week (but not yet seen testing on the Nürburgring as is the norm) news of the new M8 Competition was also leaked earlier this year after BMW held a VIP night in Paris, detailing upcoming M Division product plans including news of this mammoth performance machine.

What will it look like?

Appearing muscular and aggressive, the M8 Comp has the meanest front bumper of any 8-Series yet, filled with carbon-fibre inserts, honeycomb mesh grille and a sleek front splitter lip underneath.

The grille is finished in gloss black and new 20-inch lightweight black alloys sit over carbon-ceramic brakes and gold-painted callipers.

The roof is made from carbon-fibre with a double-bump and the side mirrors are aerodynamically designed with an air-fin on the inner edge. Changes occur around back including a big boot-mounted carbon-fibre spoiler and a matching diffuser with circular quad-tip exhaust.

What’s new?

Competition models are differentiated by plenty of carbon-fibre, both lowering weight and adding visual appeal, and inside there will be some specific flourishes such as a restyled steering wheel with two red toggle switches for changing driver modes - just like in the smaller M5 Comp - and two-tone trimmed seats are embroidered with M8 Competition lettering.

The carbon-ceramic brakes will be standard, along with gold brake callipers, and the all-wheel driveline is expected to have a similar rear-wheel-drive drift mode as in the M5.

Under the bonnet is BMW’s 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine but outputs will likely see a bump over any existing model, including the 460kW M5 Competition. Accounting for extra weight, power is tipped to hit close to 480kW and torque 800Nm, sending its grunt through the same (though likely strengthened) eight-speed automatic transmission.

What’s on the wish list?

We'll do away with the bi-turbo V8 mill and look back to the 8-Series’ 1990s roots, where it could be equipped with a big S70 5.6-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine.

But we’d opt for the bespoke BMW Motorsport Paul Rosche version that was made exclusively for the McLaren F1, oversized to 6.1-litres with quad cams, 48 valves and fed by 12 individual throttles bodies. What a noise.

When is it coming?

The M8 was confirmed during BMW’s VIP night to launch in 2019. Knowing that Australia is one of the biggest-selling M markets in the world, we’d expect it to arrive here in limited numbers late in 2019 or early 2020.