These are the first pictures of a production-ready BMW 8 Series, the company’s new flagship coupe.
Last year, BMW announced there’d be a revival of the 8 Series that was killed off at the end of the last century. Much joy ensued – we absolutely adored that old 8 Series, and a killer coupe has been missing from BMW’s line-up for quite some time.
And so we were teased with concept cars, testing photos, and racing versions. But this is the first time that BMW has shown and told us what the new 8 Series will be about.
You’ll notice that some of the clean lines of the concept have been smudged a little bit to make way for real-world tech and safety systems. However, overall, the production 8 Series really stays quite true to the concept model. A it’s a good job that the new 8 Series is a looker – BMW says that this sort of styling will filter down to its less expensive cars in due course.
Underneath the pretty body is where things get quite exciting, though. At launch, the only model we’ll have in this region is the range-topping M850i. It’ll cost more than AED 500,000, but for that, you do get a lot of power. Over 520 bhp, to be precise.
That comes courtesy of a heavily reworked version of BMW’s award-winning 4.4-litre, twin-turbo V8. It’s got a new crankcase, better pistons, new piston rings, and upgraded cylinder walls. Though it weighs the same as its predecessor, it generates 67 bhp more power, and torque is 553 lb-ft.
As a result, despite not being the full-fat M8, the M850i will do 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. That makes it quicker than the Aston Martin DB11, the Mercedes-AMG GT, and only a tenth of a second slower than the new Bentley Continental GT (which packs 100 bhp extra). Top speed is limited to the customary 250 km/h.
That engine is linked to a revised version of BMW’s 8-speed automatic gearbox, which the brand says will adapt to different driving inputs and road conditions. There’s permanent four-wheel-drive, but it’s rear-biased and aims to send 80% of the power to the rears as often as possible. There’s also active steering as standard, active roll stabilisation, active cruise control and hazard monitors.
And the 8 Series is reasonably practical too (this is a big GT coupe, after all). There’s 420 litres in the boot, plus back seats that your children might actually be able to use.
So, what do you think? A worthy update to a modern classic?
