BMW 8-series Coupe

Flagship M850i to take on Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS and Mercedes S560 Coupe

BMW IS BRINGING BACK THE 8- SERIES AF TER an absence of nearly 20 years. The coupe you see here is just the beginning of the new line- up, which will later include conver tibles and four- door Gran Coupes, with M8 variants available in all three body styles.

For now the two - door hard- top version of fers a new option for buyers looking for a sophistic ated yet still dynamic ally adept GT coupe. Topping the range at launch will be the M850i xdrive, which at £ 100,045 looks to be a keen compromise between the Porsche 911 C arrera 4 GTS and the more laid- back Mercedes- Benz S560 Coupe, both of which are priced around £ 103k. We’d also throw the £ 144k Aston Mar tin DB11 V8 into the mix.

Here’s what the new 8- series Coupe will bring to tackle its rivals.

1 ENGINES

At launch, two models will be available: an entr y- level 840d xdrive and the M850i xdrive M Per formance. The latter will utilise BMW’S venerable twin- turbocharged 4.4- litre V8. With 522bhp, the M850i concedes 70bhp to the current M5, but it matches its 553lb f t of torque. The later M8 will, of course, address that power gap.

The 840d’s 3- litre in- line six- cylinder turbodiesel is borrowed from the 740d and produces 316bhp, backed up by 501lb f t of torque between 1750 and 2250rpm. It will accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 4.9sec – 1. 2sec slower than the petrol c ar. Both models are limited to 155mph.

2 CHASSIS

The new 8- series is built from a cock tail of materials designed to reduce weight and increa se rigidity in strategic area s. Many of the body panels, plus the front and rear cra sh structures and the bulkhead, are aluminium, while the cockpit’s centre tunnel is c arbonfibre. Never theless, the M850i’s kerb weight is still a hef ty 1890k g.

This is in par t due to BMW throwing its full arsenal of cha ssis tech at the new 8- series, including xdrive all- wheel drive, rear- wheel steering and, optionally, active roll stabilisation. It’s wor th noting that the M850i’s weight figure undercuts the Mercedes S560 Coupe’s by 110k g.

BMW has thrown its full arsenal of chassis tech at the car, including x-drive, rear-wheel steering and active roll stabilisation

3 DESIGN

Design chief Adrian van Hooydonk needed this new flag ship mainstream model to purvey the‘ ideal’ BMW and point the way for ward for the design of future models. While it’s not as attention-grabbing as, say, a ni 8, the 8- series certainly looks imposing in the metal. Its slim LED or optional laser headlights are the thinnest yet fitted to a production BMW, while the car also features a downturned and conjoined kidney grille – the first time these two emerging design traits have been combined.

The roof has a subtle double-bubble effect, and the body as a whole is a very deliberate exercise in creating a threebox coupe, shunning the trend of fast back coupes that have become commonplace.

4 INTERIOR

The overall c abin architecture is simplified compared to that of the out going 6 - series, but quality ha s been a key element, according to BMW, a s well a s incorporating all the latest interior tech. A par ticularly glamorous touch is the cr ystal- like gearshif ter, which sits in a control centrelike arrangement along side the i- Drive dial and cha ssis buttons.

Although still suitably sumptuous, the interior – like the rest of the c ar – is more driver- focused than that of the Mercedes S- cla ss Coupe, a s is empha sised by the centre stack being angled acutely towards the driver. Its block y aesthetic could even be a gentle homa ge to the original 8- series from 1989.