Despite its relative lack of sales success and the fact that it never lived up to its hype, the BMW M8 is still one of the brand’s best looking cars. It’s also an incredible long-distance GT car, even if it isn’t all that thrilling to drive hard. It has gobs of power, a comfy suspension, and long enough legs to drive hundreds and hundreds of miles, at triple-digit speeds, in one sitting. As a convertible, it’s even better. So even through it isn’t particularly new or special in BMW’s lineup, we just had to snag some photos of it in Isle of Man Green at the Chicago Auto Show.
With the recent BMW M8 LCI facelift, it gained quite a few new colors, such as Marina Bay Blue, Dravit Grey, Skyscraper Grey, Frozen Grey Metallic, and Frozen Tanzanite Blue. However, none are as popular as Isle of Man Green. The gorgeous green color, named after independent island in the Irish Sea, was first introduced on the G80 BMW M3 and instantly became one of its most popular colors. However, I don’t think anyone would argue that the G80 M3 is better looking than the BMW M8 Convertible. The latter is far prettier and it wears the M3’s color even better than the M3 could ever dream of.
The BMW M8 Convertible’s low, wide, aggressive design works really well in Isle of Man Green and the contrasting black soft-top roof, wheels, and accents work perfectly. The M8 isn’t without flaws (actually, it has several) but its looks are not one of them. In this color, it’s even prettier than usual.
Inside, this specific BMW M8 Convertible has an unusual choice of black and Sakhir Orange interior. While it’s a nice interior in isolation, I’m not sure it works with the green exterior paint. Something like the Midrange Beige would have worked better with green. However, the Alcantara-covered dashboard is an interesting touch and one I would like to see and feel in person. Alcantara is a lovely material and one that feels expensive but I don’t know how well it will hold up to being cooked in the sun underneath the windshield over many years.
It’s been a long time since I’ve driven a BMW M8 but it’s a great GT car with stunning looks. Adding a great color like Isla of Man Green and dropping the top makes it even better. I hope I get to drive one just like this before the 8er gets killed off.
