BMW M8 promises adjustable brake feel, rear-wheel-drive mode
There's a lot of new tech in the M8 focused entirely on the driving experience.
Some teasers are little more than a few interesting pictures of an upcoming car. But since the M8 is all but a given at this point, BMW went one step beyond the usual teaser campaign by offering up some interesting news about the M8's in-car tech.
BMW on Thursday previewed some new driving-focused tech for the upcoming M8 Coupe and M8 Convertible. The teasers themselves are pretty mild -- we're mostly familiar with the 8 Series ' shape at this point, and the M8 takes the usual route of other M cars, adding some more aggressive bumpers and fenders, which in these teasers are still camouflaged.
The tech is far more interesting to talk about. There's a new Setup button on the center console that allows users to cycle through various vehicle settings -- that much isn't necessarily new, as it's a popular bit of kit on a number of sports cars . It covers all the same parameters you might expect, including throttle touchiness, steering weight and suspension stiffness. And like the M5 before it, the M8's all-wheel-drive system is capable of sending all the power to just the rear wheels, essentially granting RWD status for a stretch of time.
It'll be interesting to see just how bonkers the M8 Competition will be.
What's particularly unique is that the brakes can be adjusted: A new electric braking module replaces the brake booster and allows the car to customize the brake pedal feel, offering a Comfort mode with a more gradual brake application and a Sport mode that lets you clamp down on the rotors as quickly as your right foot can manage. Best of all, it works with both the standard brakes and the optional carbon-ceramic stoppers.
The M Mode button on the center console brings the driver-assist systems into the mix. Regular M8 models will have Road and Sport modes, allowing certain ADAS to be softened or eliminated while changing the amount of information displayed to the driver through the gauge cluster and head-up display. The upcoming M8 Competition one-ups that system with a Track mode, which disables all interventions and turns off both the audio system and the main infotainment screen.
The M8 will be BMW's flagship performance vehicle, so it makes sense that it will serve as the debut platform for additional driver tech. We're excited to get behind the wheel and try out these new customization methods. It's still unclear when BMW plans to debut the M8, but given how little camouflage is on the car in its teaser images, it shouldn't be too long before that happens.
