Trademark documents posted online a couple weeks ago revealed to us that the BMW X8 M could be on the horizon. Today, a report from Car claims the X8 M will be a PHEV.
The report doesn’t cite anybody within BMW specifically, so we do have our doubts. However, the information does track with what we’ve heard out of BMW in the past. Markus Flash, head of BMW M division, indicated last year that if it brings plug-in hybrid tech to M cars, it’d be with the larger, heavier ones. He’s talking about crossovers like the X5 M, X6 M and potentially, the X8 M.
Car’s report claims the X8 M PHEV would make about 750 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. BMW would use its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 in concert with an electric motor to reach those sky-high power numbers. Introducing the first M PHEV as the most powerful M car ever doesn’t sound like the worst of ideas to swat the doubters aside. The electric motor tech is reportedly going to be filched from the iNext crossover, which would make it the newest and best that BMW is capable of at that time. Development is said to be taking place on the CLAR platform.
Timing-wise, this rumor is still in its infancy. The latest reports indicate that the regular BMW X8 won’t hit dealerships until the 2023 model year. BMW’s most recent launch cadence indicates to us that the X8 M would likely arrive a year or two after the standard X8. That means the M may not actually see the light of day until 2024 or 2025. In other words, it’s a long ways out, but that 750 horsepower figure is already sounding superb.
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