Early last year it was rumored that BMW could offer an M version for its i8 hybrid supercar. It was supposed to drop the hybrid powertrain in favor of a conventional V-8 powerplant with an output of about 600 horsepower. Sounded pretty great, right?

Now - one year later - it appears that BMW has dropped the idea of developing such a model. While no other explanation has been offered, it looks like the M8 is "no longer part of the program." We do not understand why this decision was made, considering the i8 platform can easily accept front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive alternatives.

So, while we are hoping that the company will change its mind in the future, we'll just have to wait for the i8. It will arrive sometime later this year and comes with a driving range of about 20 miles in near-silent, zero-emission mode. This figure, combined with a 0 to 60 mph sprint time of 4.9 seconds, and the top speed of 156 mph makes it the ideal car for both city and track.

Click past the jump to read more about the rumored BMW M8 supercar.

About BMW M8

The rumored BMW M8 was supposed to share the carbon-fiber and aluminum chassis with the upcoming BMW i8, while borrowing design elements from the e M1 Hommage concept car unveiled at the 2008 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

While the i8 will be powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor, for the M8, BMW was rumored to adopt a convention V-8 engine with an output of about 600 horsepower. With this power the M8 could have easily sprint from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds with top speed of about 200 mph.

With the M8, BMW was finally supposed to have a competitor for models like Audi R8 GT or Mercedes SLS GT.