BMW Official Confirms Mysterious 8-Series Was Not A Mid-Engined Car

Earlier this week, our spy photographers managed to snap a few pictures of a mysterious prototype based on the 8-Series Coupe.

Due to the vented rear window quarter panels, some suggested that it might be  a development vehicle for a future mid-engined model, you know, like as a new supercar, perhaps a modern-day M1.

However, as we noted in our article, the side air intakes were too small to feed enough air into a hypothetical mid-mounted power unit, which would have led to some serious cooling issues, not to mention that the overall proportions would have been different too.

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So, as we suspected, it was not a mid-engined car after all, but what was it? AutoMotorUndSport picked up the phone, shortly after receiving the spy shots, and called BMW, getting the following answer: “No, it’s not a mid-engined sports car. The spied prototype is a development vehicle, with which different departments of the Group test new components.”

This opens up new possibilities, as they could have been experimenting with many new parts, from different powertrains, as the German publication noted, to various chassis elements, brakes, exhaust systems or possibly even new multimedia technology and safety gear. As for the tester, it was actually based on the M8 Coupe, not the regular 8er, they added.

While it’s a pity that BMW is not working on a supercar, it probably would not be a viable product from a financial standpoint in these challenging times, but hey, if it’s something that we have learned over the years, is never say never in the automobile game.