Before a pandemic brought the world and the automotive climate to a standstill, BMW was hard at work on several new halo products. This was around the time we caught wind of what was called 'Project Rockstar' and would eventually become the BMW XM. But prior to the XM name being confirmed, it was believed BMW was also working on another halo SUV to be called the X8.

Even after the XM was confirmed as a pure M SUV, reports continued to support the fact that the X8 was in the pipeline. But we're now several years down the road, and the X8 hasn't materialized… and the bad news is that it's not going to. Let's explore why.

UPDATE 01/31/2024: This article was originally published in December 2021 to concentrate all available information on the BMW X8 in one resource. It has been updated with the latest available information on the X8's existence and the circumstances that led to the X8 not coming to fruition.

The History of the X8 Rumors

Rumors of the BMW X8 began before the first-ever X7 had even been fully revealed, as far back as 2017. They started when Autocar asked BMW if there was room for an X8 above the X7 as a more style-focused alternative to the incoming practical three-row SUV. "The sector is growing fast, so there will be opportunity," says BMW head of development, Klaus Fröhlich. "It is early to talk about X8, but one of the first decisions I made when I worked on product strategy was to take the X5 and make the X6."

Fröhlich expanded that he believed there was a place for the X8: "There is room for X8 - especially in markets like China - but there are no decisions yet. Each car must have a distinct character, and these are the sort of areas that take time to evaluate."

The Planned X8 M

Subsequent reports continued to support the X8's existence, but it wasn't until 2020 that we began to suspect BMW M involvement in the project. A trademark filing in Germany for the BMW X8 M nameplate sparked further speculation that the two-row, coupe-style X8 would be sportier than the X7 it would be based upon, and from there, everything started snowballing.

Reports of the Project Rockstar internal designation built up steam, and information began leaking that Project Rockstar would sit right at the top of the X8 lineup as a full-M version of the X8, replete with a 750-horsepower hybrid version of the M5's 4.4-liter V8. As we now know, that proved to be a legitimate piece of information, and those figures are pretty close to what we now have in the XM Label.

X8 M Becomes the XM

The BMW XM first became a relevant name when CarBuzz discovered a trademark filing with the UKIPO for "XM" in 2021, at which point we assumed Project Rockstar would drop the X8 nomenclature. A few months after that, BMW North America teased the reveal of "an all-new high-powered, hybrid-electric vehicle," and we were introduced shortly thereafter to the Concept XM - a vision of a bespoke BMW M product for the modern era, the first since the iconic M1.

It was more than just a concept, though, and from the outset, BMW had plans for a production version.

X8 Rumors Refused To Die

Sure, the X8 M had a new name, but in the weeks following the reveal of the concept, reports from Germany indicated BMW still had plans to sell an SUV marketed as the X8. The X8 was intended to be a toned-down version of the full-fat M SUV with a more affordable price tag and reduced performance focus. A V8 was still expected, but so was a 3.0-liter inline six.

If you've followed news on the XM, you'll remember that after the production-spec XM was revealed, BMW sneakily released a junior version - the XM 50e - powered by a plug-in hybrid inline-six generating peak outputs of 469 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque.

If the BMW XM replaced the BMW X8 M, we believe this XM 50e was meant to be the entry-spec BMW X8. After all, BMW M's Frank van Meel had initially said, "We never considered not using the V8 [for the XM.]"

So why did BMW drop the BMW X8 name? As it turns out, it has something to do with a supercar revival, the market shifting toward high-end SUVs, and a global pandemic.

BMW Was Planning A New M Supercar

For years, fans have clamored for a new BMW supercar, a true successor to the iconic M1. The BMW i8 was visually striking, but its powertrain and performance ultimately disappointed. But BMW did have a planned supercar in the works. Recently detailed in Steve Saxty's new book trilogy, BMW Behind The Scenes, a project codenamed I16 was set to enter production as the BMW iM.

The iM was to be inspired by the Vision M NEXT concept, using a revised version of the i8's carbon composite chassis to accommodate a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder powertrain with up to 536 hp, but with the potential to accommodate an inline-six, specifically the BMW B58.

Development was well underway, with the design almost finalized, when several market factors conspired against the iM's genesis. The market continued to pivot towards high-end SUVs, meaning a supercar would always be a niche product, and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, automakers had to consolidate development into core models that would be guaranteed sales successes. In 2020, then head of BMW R&D, Klaus Fröhlich, gathered the team in charge of project I16 to tell them the project had been canned, with BMW moving focus to the XM.

The X8 Officially Became The XM When BMW Sold Out

The timeline above is crucial to understanding why the idea of the X8 was dropped, as before 2020, the X8 was alive and well. We believe that BMW had every intention of launching the X8 as a halo luxury SUV, with the X8 M to be its range-topper. But when the aforementioned stresses forced BMW to cancel the development of the iM supercar, it was left with a problem: it didn't have the M halo it was planning and knew it needed if it wanted to rival the likes of the Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT (and AMG One).

It was at this point that the idea was hatched to combine the two halos (SUV and M car) into one product. The SUV was the perfect fit for changing market conditions, and luxury goods sales were seemingly unaffected by the pandemic, as evidenced by record sales years for Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and other ultra-luxury brands.

So BMW M sold out, slapping the M badge on an SUV with no real sporting intent. The XM was made for appearances. That much was confirmed to CarBuzz by current M boss Frank van Meel, who told us that the ultra-luxury SUV segment was "the zeitgeist segment to enter into." He claimed there was consumer demand, citing that "A lot of people who drive a Lamborghini Urus or Mercedes G-Class say, 'I want to have something like that from BMW,' and so for us, it was the logical choice."

At the same event, van Meel had waxed lyrical about how every core M product was "developed on the track for the track," yet when speaking of the XM, van Meel admitted, "You will never see it on the track because people will use it for everyday driving or just to be seen in that car."

Will There Be A BMW X8?

Was there meant to be a BMW X8? Yes, there was. And was there going to be a BMW X8 M? Yes, absolutely. We're even of the opinion that even when the X8 M officially became the XM, lesser variants were still going to be badged as the X8, creating a distinction between the ultimate range-topper and more luxurious derivatives meant to lure buyers out of Range Rovers and Bentley Bentaygas.

In theory, the X8 does exist. It's just badged as an M car (incorrectly, in my opinion). But the question still remains: would BMW build an actual X8?

The possibility still exists, but it hinges on the market reception of the XM, which has thus far been lukewarm. If the XM doesn't achieve the commercial success BMW expects, then it may launch the next-gen XM as an X8 instead. We've seen BMW pivot similar products to have new names in the past, like the 6 Series that evolved into the new 8 Series to attract a higher-class clientele or the 5 Series GT that was rebadged as a 6 Series to differentiate itself from the core 5 Series.

BMW XM Sales So Far

BMW has never publicized intended sales targets for its various models, so we don't know exactly what the automaker had in mind for the XM. We do, however, know that the USA was intended to be the biggest market for the XM, followed by China and the Middle East.

Considering the XM was a new halo for the brand and intended to enter new territory, it's curious that BMW's 2023 global sales recap never mentioned sales figures for the XM. However, as of September 2023 (three quarters of the year), BMW had sold 4,450 XMs globally. We also know that total US sales of the XM in 2023 amounted to just 2,315 units, of which only 701 were sold in the final quarter.

Considering BMW M sold 205,530 cars for the year, including junior M Performance models, it seems the XM is only making up a fraction of the sales volumes it was intended to. Rivals seemed to strongly outsell the XM, with Lamborghini moving 6,087 Urus SUVs and Bentley selling just short of 6,000 Bentaygas during the same period. The XM isn't what we'd call an outright flop, but we're not sure it's been as successful as BMW might have hoped, meaning an X8 may be on the horizon.

There's further evidence in the fine details. One clear example is the BMW XM Label Red, or . It was originally reported (through reliable sources on BMW matters) that BMW was planning "Red Label, "Black Label" and XM Competition variants. The Label Red was launched as a range-topper, accompanied by a 500-unit launch edition, but after a few months, BMW changed its name simply to the XM Label. Perhaps BMW had planned multiple 'label' editions all along, but when sales didn't go as planned, it decided to consolidate them into one variant.