BMW to showcase new 8 Series, landmark M cars at The Amelia

MANILA: BMW will unveil the newly updated BMW 8 Series and kick off a year-long celebration of 50 Years of M at The Amelia.

The Amelia is one of the world’s premiere concours d’elegance (competition of elegance) events. It will take place from March 3 to 6 at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Northeastern Florida, USA. 

BMW said the 2023 8 Series wears "fresh exterior details, an updated and illuminated twin kidney grill, new colors, and enhanced technology inside." The updated GT comes in coupe, convertible, and Gran Coupe forms. 

Meanwhile 50 vehicles spanning the 50-year history of BMW M will be on display to the public at The Amelia. The group of M cars will include vehicles from BMW Car Club of America members from around the US, and special examples from BMW of North America’s classic collection.

Among these vehicles will be the one-off E31 M8 Prototype, which was near-secretly developed by BMW in the early 1990s.

The M8 Prototype is  based on the original E31-generation 8 Series coupe (E31). After its completion, a single press photo was released with very few details on the car. The M8 Prototype then remained under wraps for nearly two decades until 2010.

Official performance testing was never carried out, BMW said. The M8 Prototype is powered by a 6.1-liter S70 V12 engine that produced over 630hp, which revved to nearly 8,000rpm. The prototype is lightweight thanks to a hood, trunk lid, and doors made of fiberglass. 

The BMW Group Classic will present a freshly restored 1980 BMW M1 that was commissioned by a US collector. The M1 was the first complete vehicle by the BMW M  division in the 1970s.

The M1 was designed by Italdesign Giugiaro and Lamborghini. With a mid-mounted 3.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine, the M1 debuted at the Paris Auto Show in 1978. 

The M1 was raced in the single-make Procar BMW M1 Championship that supported F1 races in 1979 and 1980, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Group B from 1981 to 1986.

BMW’s legendary V12 LMR racing prototype will also be on display at The Amelia. 

Jointly developed with Formula 1 partner WilliamsF1, the V12 LMR was built to challenge the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans and American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The V12 LMR debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 1999.

In the same year, the V12 LMR won both the Sebring and Le Mans races. 

Photos from BMW

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