8 Series Coupe

Make
BMW
Segment
Coupe

BMW's Individual customization department has produced some special one-off models in the past, but this latest one based on the BMW M850i is literally out of this world. Dubbed the BMW Individual M850i Night Sky, the bespoke coupe features interior components made from meteoritic material. Now there's a niche nobody has ever asked for.

To give the car some context, the M850i Night Sky was designed to honor an incoming meteor shower expected to take place overnight, from January 3-4.

Step inside, and you'll find meteoritic rock adorning the center console's trim plate, the start/stop button, the selector lever for the eight-speed Steptronic transmission, and the Touch Controller for the iDrive system. BMW says this creates "a visual and tactile effect unparalleled in the automotive sector."

Inlays made from meteorite material have also been incorporated into the door sill finishers along with an illuminated model badge. BMW Individual even consulted researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics during the design process.

Elsewhere, interior and exterior elements feature cues taken from the Widmanstatten surface pattern, a geometric structure that has the appearance of ice crystals and becomes visible when certain types of iron meteorite are polished or brought into contact with acidic compounds. The meteorite pattern has been applied to the headliner, center console trim finishers, brake discs, exterior mirror caps, front splitters for the side air intakes, the center mesh plate, and the surrounds for the Air Breathers. An illuminated star constellation on the armrest continues the astronomy theme.

BMW Motorsport also developed 3D-printed aluminium brake calipers specifically for the M850i Night Sky, which are 30 percent lighter than conventional components. Luxury cabin materials include BMW Individual fine-grain Merino leather trim with tri-color design, an Opal White / Midnight Blue / Silver color scheme, and Midnight Blue deep-pile carpeting.

As for the exterior, BMW Individual created a special two-tone paint finish incorporating black non-metallic as the base color and a second coat in San Marino Blue metallic. Three layers of clear coat with varying pigment particle sizes were then applied to give the paint finish a striking sense of depth.