Another blue-baller for the premium, luxury and/or performance car fans among you. The above video teaser is, okay, largely insignificant in terms of facts and performance figures, but does show, in pretty striking detail, the capabilities of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe, which will debut ‘during 2018’. Yep…
If you’re unfamiliar with BMW’s naming culture, the 8 Series is essentially a two-door, coupe version of the company’s 7-Series luxury saloon. Consequently, it shares not only the basic underpinnings – G11 platform, suspension, etc – but also, presumably, the same engine line-up. Don’t be too surprised to see a 4.4-litre V8 and a plug-in hybrid powertrain confirmed when the silks drop on the Coupe’s official launch. Whether production will take place at the Dingolfing or Landshut facilities though remains to be seen…
Perhaps most interesting though is that the 8 Series Coupe will also feature the same semi-autonomous systems found on the 7 Series when the luxury limousine first appeared back in 2015. Among the most significant tech at that time was the Driving Assistant Plus (optional) safety system, which offers conventional rear collision prevention, remote engine start, lane keep assist, etc. More notable though was the remote control parking, which can be activated by the key fob and while the driver is outside the car. You’ll find a video example of that at the bottom of the page.
Give it a few months and a performance-spec road-going M8 is set to join the fold in what company figureheads are calling “the biggest comprehensive change in the history of BMW.” Wait another beat, and the race-orientated M8 GTE will make its debut at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
“The 8 series coupe is part of what figureheads are calling “the biggest comprehensive change in the history of BMW.”
For now though, the teaser video shows simply a heavily disguised 8 Series Coupe performance testing at the 4km high-speed proving ground in Aprilia, Italy. Gearing up to directly rival Mercedes-Benz’ S-Class Coupe and Bentley Continental GT, news of the 8 Series Coupe’s impending arrival first dropped in May last year alongside concept artwork. The announcement came 20 years after production of the original 8 Series came to a halt, the original model scarcely scratching 31K global sales during a time of fluctuating finances and the beginning of the green movement.
Interestingly, like the Infiniti Prototype 9, the 8 Series Concept was also unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.