When the E24 BMW 6-series expired with the ’80s, the company decided it was time to take its big coupe upmarket, replacing the 6 with an 8 based on the 7-series sedan. Built to impress, the 8-series was originally offered only with a V-12. It was also priced so high that many 6-series customers couldn’t or wouldn’t make the leap. BMW’s 8-series output totaled less than a third of 6-series production, and the company pulled the plug in 1999, eventually relaunching the 6 in 2003. But now BMW is nudging its big two-door upmarket again.
Styling
The look of BMW’s sedans may have become somewhat stale, but the 8-series concept BMW unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como this year might portend an awakening in the Werke’s design studios. The bold proportions emphasize its longitudinal-engine architecture, and the forks atop the slats in the brand’s signature kidney grille suggest a willingness to fuss with even the most sacred of styling cues.
But there’s also much to tie this concept to BMW’s present-day lineup. Protruding taillights evoke the daring look of the i8 while the mammoth cutouts in the front and rear bumpers recall the aggressively scalloped M2. The current 5-series wears similarly gimmicky trapezoidal exhaust finishers. The 8er’s edge will surely soften when it reaches production, but the concept gives a clear indication of what’s to come.
Chassis
Despite a designation that suggests this is a 7-series coupe, the 8 will retain the current 6-series’ association with the 5-series sedan. While BMW’s larger, odd-numbered sedans share some components, expect the new range-topping coupe to feel more like a 5-series than a 7. It’ll be a couple of inches shorter and as much as 200 pounds lighter than the current 6-series. The body and chassis will be composed primarily of a mix of steel and aluminum, with a few select pieces cast in magnesium. As on the current 5, rear-wheel steering will be optional. The 8-series will replace the full 6-series lineup, so if you need more room (and more doors), there will be an 8-series Gran Coupe. And if you are okay with even less room, there will be a convertible as well.
Powertrain
This next-generation 8 will be more modestly cylindered than BMW’s first: There will be an 840i with a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and an 850i powered by a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8—though even the six, which makes up to 335 horsepower in today’s BMWs, will surpass the output of the original 850i’s 12-cylinder. While it must be tempting for BMW to go after the Mercedes-Benz S65, we expect the minuscule take rate of 12-cylinder S-classes will keep BMW from bothering. And we expect the 8’s prestigious positioning to preclude the offering of a hybrid model. Europe will get a diesel, but we won’t. ZF’s eight-speed automatic will be the only transmission choice, and all 8s but the base six-cylinder cars will be all-wheel drive.
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