BMW introduced a facelifted version for the 8th Series’ second generation in 2022, and it offered it with the M-treatment for every body shape.
But the brand’s purists couldn’t choose anything else than the coupe version.

When the first generation of the 8-Series, the E31, was unveiled, BMW’s fans asked for an M-version. The carmaker worked on that, made the prototype, and then hid it into storage, where it remained forever. But with the second generation of the 8-Series, which happened in 2018, the carmaker didn’t avoid the high-performance version for it and made the M8 Competition. Moreover, it offered it on all three body styles: Coupe, Convertible, and Gran Coupe.

Like the rest of the facelifted range, the M8 Competition showed up with the M-specific front bumper that featured a wide air intake on the front apron, flanked by two scoops that cooled the brakes. To release the air trapped inside the wheel-well, the carmaker added an extracting vent on each side of the vehicle, on the front fenders. The hood featured two longitudinal bulges, like a warning for V-engine underneath it. Unlike the rest of the range, the M8 Competition came fitted as standard with 20” light-alloy wheels.

The interior was upgraded, and the most striking difference was for the infotainment screen, which stood atop the center stack. Unlike the non-facelifted version, it featured a standard 12.3” display instead of the older 10.25” units used before. The interior is upholstered in Merino leather/Alcantara as standard, with either M sport seats or M carbon bucket seats, depending on the option.

Under the hood, the V8 twin-turbo powerplant delivered enough performance to chase most supercars from its era. As usual, the coupe version was a little bit quicker on the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) run than the convertible.

Revealed at the same time as the M8 Convertible, the first ever BMW M8 Coupe is powered by “the most powerful engine ever developed for a BMW M GmbH car,” which was borrowed straight from the monstrous BMW M5.
The 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 develops 600 horsepower and 750 Nm of torque in the base model and 625 horsepower in the M8 Competition versions, which are identical numbers with the M5 donor.

Also taken straight out of the M5 is the M xDrive all-wheel-drive system with a rear-based setup and Active M Differential, sending the power to either all four wheels or just the rear ones via a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox. Just like the M5, the M8 can be driven either in the default 4WD setting or 4WD Sport mode, which sends a lot more power to the rear wheels. When the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) is deactivated, the model becomes a pure 2WD car. The normal M8 Coupe can go from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.3 seconds, while the 200 kph (124 mph) speed is clocked in 10.8 seconds. The M8 Competition is slightly faster, with the 0-100 kph time taking only 3.2 seconds and the 200 kph speed being hit in 10.6 seconds.