Updated BMW M8 Competition confirmed for South Africa

BMW has announced that an updated version of all three body styles of the M8 Competition will be available in South Africa from the third quarter of 2022.

The engine and look of the outgoing model remain unchanged, while a new range of paints, wheels, and design packages are available.

The line-up is equipped with a V8 powerplant that assures no M8 Competition takes longer than 3.3 seconds to reach 100km/h.

What’s new

The updated “body painting program” of the M8 Competition makes available a wide range of new exterior paints, including Skyscraper Grey metallic, Brooklyn Grey metallic, Isle of Man Green metallic, and BMW Individual Tanzanite Blue metallic.

Four new “Frozen” silk-matte finishes are also on offer, called Frozen Pure Grey metallic, Frozen Deep Grey metallic, Frozen Deep Green metallic, and Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic.

A new optional extra for the high-performance BMWs is then the M Lamps Shadow Line package, which sees the standard Laser Lights gain dark, stylistic accents.

“The dark design of the inserts and chrome elements inside the headlamps, in combination with the high-gloss black frame of the BMW kidney as standard, contributes to a particularly striking and sporty look on the front of the vehicle,” said BMW.

Around the sides, every updated M8 Competition wears 20-inch M light-alloy wheels with high-performance tyres, as well as M compound brakes. Carbon ceramic callipers are an optional extra for drivers who want to take their sporty BMW to the track.

The revised cabin of the new M8 Competition is endowed with extended Alcantara contents on the instrument panel and upper door sills, while every model is fitted with a Merino leather/Alcantara upholstery as standard. A black/Sakhir orange interior colour combination is now available for the first time, too.

For an “unadulterated racing feeling”, customers can swop the normal M Sport seats for M Carbon buckets that feature integrated headrests, visible carbon fibre, backrest openings, and multi-point seatbelt guides, said BMW.

As with the standard 8 Series range, the updated M8 Competition now also comes with a larger 12.3-inch central display – compared to the 10.25 inches from before – along with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

This brings with online navigation and the BMW intelligent personal assistant. Additional standard features include the BMW driving assistant, park assistant, reverse assistant, a wireless charger, and a Harman Kardon surround sound system.

Performance

The powerful M8 Competition range is driven by a 4.4-litre, V8, TwinPower Turbo engine that generates 460kW and 750Nm.

Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission, an active rear differential, and electronically-controlled shock absorbers.

The result is a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.2 seconds for both the Coupe and Gran Coupe models and 3.3 seconds for the Convertible.

Accelerating to 200km/h takes 10.6 seconds for the two-door, 11 seconds for the four-door, and 11.3 seconds for the soft-top.

Top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h for all derivatives, while this can be increased to 305km/h when the optional M Driver’s package is installed.