The BMW 8 Series has barely hit the road in Europe (note it will arrive in South Africa in the first quarter of 2019, in both coupé and convertible form) but it’s already proving popular with tuning houses. First AC Schnitzer set to work on the coupé and now Manhart has come up with its own package for the M850i, which it dubs the MH8 600.
The MH8 600 retains the Munich-based brand’s N63 twin-turbo 4,4-litre V8 but pushes its peak outputs from 390 kW and 750 N.m of torque to 457 kW and 870 N.m (that’s more than AC Schnitzer’s package, if you’re counting). This has been achieved thanks to the fitment of the firm’s MHtronik ECU. Manhart has yet to provide any performance figures as the vehicle still needs to be performance tested.
To go along with this bump in power the MH8 600 benefits from a 20 mm drop in ride height via an H&R lowering kit. Downforce is ostensibly improved with the addition of a carbon-fibre front splitter and rear spoiler, while Manhart has also fitted a set of 21-inch Concave One alloy wheels. Then, of course, there’s the gold decal design.
For those who want to give the Mercedes-AMG S63 coupé a particularly hard time, Manhart says that its package will be available by the first quarter of 2019. The upcoming M8, which BMW earlier in 2018 confirmed would have “more than” 440 kW, is also set to debut in 2019.
