BMW have unveiled a very cosmically themed one-off example of their 8 Series Coupe called Night Sky. Its reveal coincides with the Quadrantids meteor shower that’s expected to be most visible to onlookers on Earth as we pass by the 2003 EH asteroid.
Thusly, various special touches have woven into this very special M850i by the automaker’s bespoke arm, BMW Individual, going so far as to incorporate meteorites into the car’s cabin. To ensure material integrity, they sought help from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. Of course, these machined fragments do not originate from 2003 EH but are impressive nonetheless.
These fragments have been machined to a textured finish that looks both raw and futuristic, then applied to areas such as the engine Start/Stop button, iDrive controller knob, and comprises of basically the entire centre tunnel finish, showcasing the otherworldly geometric Widmanstätten patterns of meteorites.
Other surfaces of the M850i has also been altered to replicate this, exampled in the unique hand stitched headliner and seats inserts as well as the centre console trim finishers. On other areas where the precious and delicate meteorite material will no doubt suffer damage, BMW Individual did their best to mimic its visual and tactile properties, using 3D printed substitutes on the exterior mirror caps, the centre mesh plate, front splitter elements, and front side gills.
They’ve even went so far as to 3D print the aluminium brake callipers and steel rotors using motorsport derived designs and techniques to integrate these unique pattern designs, achieving a much lighter and more effective stopping system in the process of this beautification.
Meanwhile, BMW combined two popular colour choices with the Night Sky, resulting in a shade not seen in any other car. They started with a base coat of non-metallic Black but layered San Marino blue metallic on to that in a graduated manner to create a finish of varying colour intensity before 3 additional layers of clear coat was applied with pigment particles of different sizes to invoke an increased sense of depth.
Otherwise, the M850i is mechanically untouched, meaning power is derived from a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine producing 390kW and 750Nm mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system. Presumably, the cosmic material had little effect on the car’s weight, so the 0-100km/h sprint would still be 3.7 seconds.
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