I just watched David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) last night. Now, 24 hours later, I am still blown away by it. The all-star cast-- Lemon, Pacino, Harris, Arkin, Spacey-- were all at the top of their games. Two references really stuck with me. One was about the Patels. The other was about Alec Baldwin's $80,000 BMW.
Of course, he was talking about his red 850i parked outside. This V12 grand tourer has never gotten a lot of press. It came out around the time of the last recession and was just not a big hit. Less than 31,000 units were sold during its entire production run (1989-99).
One question that bugged me today was: What was the most outrageous 8 series model to come out, from either the factory or from the tuners (Alpina, Dinan, etc.)? The answer, I believe, is the M8 prototype.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAfqoFvM7_Rgc34jQ3OX6IpcXD7Bvr5SadxLdwcb0X3lKp1FdD_8Xoo1Tg0694CoVBtkkxu9BB3jH90j_TrxgUySbU4bOxUyJuVAwPGu_5RoXjinZYL227V-5Rygp9DTP-hm1/s320/8+series+bmw.jpg)
The M8 was meant to compete with Ferraris and Porsches. But with a sour market, the idea was scrapped. A 6 liter V12 producing over 500 horsepower moved the red machine. Telltale cosmetic cues included the hood bulge, rear fender vents, and those window holes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASjLn9d1t_nhfvVBqix5IZKOCxAzbM72bhGapZ-44qbrsMp8bh4kkgIJOXr15YoVZ4GxITzVSjZ6l6Pt6k-LNvuEkDX27M-vJjRlTq_k4FMf9yrhY91n6ypnN7ePa3h4ucwwc/s320/m8+engine.jpg)
A common misconception was that the M8 and the McLaren F1 shared the same engine. Not true. Gordon Murray eschewed the engine because it was too heavy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvtCSndiQ4IJEJ0a16ACR0B1Z3WCyVRzsHJ0MrI8AqGxe1hyphenhyphenS_sxp2jQtpaXyoTgMcbkAgX4Pb2qJu1UmwcxnnK-Lzzlj-oLLCXPbUxY-p9Y3rG3Ys0GTDOIYYJcbmpDXYtvG/s320/bmw+m8+red.jpg)
BMW eventually destroyed the only prototype. As interesting as the project sounded, I think it would have violated the true spirit of M vehicles to slap an M badge onto such a heavy, long wheelbased coupe.
Update: It's alive!
1 comment:
It's a real shame they destroyed it. I wonder what happened to this?
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