Bmw 850csi E31 M8 Prototype Engine

The outstanding feature of the BMW M8 E31 prototype is its large 6-litre engine. V12 engines have always been amongst the most desired by true car enthusiasts, but this one is a particularly unique. The power unit, derived specifically from the S70 engine that was known for top performance, combines superiority, smooth running and enormous performance potential with an impressive appearance.

Instead, an M-engineered performance version called 850CSi came out in 1992 with a far more plebian, 375-hp S70 V12. The only completed M8 was never shown to the public, and it ended up in a. The BMW E31 is the first generation of the BMW 8 Series.

It is a grand tourer built by BMW from 1990 to 1999 as a 2-door coupé, powered by either a V8 or V12 engine. Why? Because BMW made a single S70/1 engine, specifically for a one-off prototype of a planned M8 for the E31-generation 8 Series. At a BMW press event in California earlier this year, I got up close with the M8 prototype.

(It was a rare opportunity-after the project died in the early 1990s the car sat in a basement in Germany for 20 years.). The E31 BMW M8 Prototype is arguable one of most valuable concept cars in BMW's portfolio. And it made 640 horsepower in 1990s.

Here is more interesting BMW-M related facts about the E31: As a top-of-the-range variant of the 8 Series, the 850CSi took over from the prototype M8 variant. The 850CSi used the same engine as the 850i, which was tuned so significantly that BMW assigned it a new engine code: S70B56. BMW M8 (E31) prototype While BMW chose not to build the M8, it green lighted the tamer 850CSi, with a 5.6.

Power was sent to the rear through a six-speed manual. Although only one E31 M8 exists, three of these engines were made. E31 BMW M8 Prototype specifications.

Long before the current BMW M8 came into existence, the car manufacturer developed a one-off, high. BMW M8 E31 (1990) Originally envisioned as a Ferrari competitor equipped with a special 550 bhp (410 kW; 558 PS) version of the S70 engine, essentially a bored out version of the M70 with experimental multi.