The 8 Series returns
BMW HAS has taken the wraps off its shapely new Concept 8 Series at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy.
It is essentially a taster for the new 8 Series Coupé that’s set to hit showrooms in 2018, and according to BMW, the showcar reveals “much of what is to come.”
BMW boldly claims that the resurrected 8 Series will “raise the benchmark” for coupés in its segment, BMW’s design Vice President Adrian van Hooydonk describing it as a “luxurious sports car which embodies both unadulterated dynamics and modern luxury like arguably no other.”
Thus expect BMW to pitch the 8 Series as a sportier alternative to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé.
BMW remains tight-lipped about what’s under the bonnet of its forthcoming 8 Series but word on the street is that it’ll largely mimic the 7 Series with which it shares a platform, the line-up likely topped by BMW’s 448kW 6.6-litre turbocharged V12. The 240kW 3-litre six-cylinder and 330kW 4.4-litre V8 turbopetrols will almost certainly feature lower down the range, perhaps with a hybrid or two thrown in to keep with the times.
Since BMW is positioning this as a luxury two-door, air suspension is also a very likely fixture.
Although the concept’s design will no doubt be toned down in its transition to showroom sensibility, Continued on Page 3