Roominess at the Top: BMW 8 Series Debuts in Concept Form

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

If your 7 Series has friends and club patrons pretending not to know you, BMW has the answer: its upcoming, resurrected 8 Series. Once again, BMW has decided to carve out some space at the top of its model range, this time to rebuff efforts by Mercedes-Benz to lure buyers in the six-figure luxury market.

It’s big, it’s long, it’s expensive, and it’s…a concept. While buyers can expect some deviations between the BMW Concept 8 Series premiering at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and the final production model, this vehicle seems pretty fleshed out. Also, unlike such styling efforts as the Buick Avista, this vehicle will actually see production.

It was only this month that BMW confirmed a year’s worth of rumors and copped to the 8 Series’ return.

The automaker calls this “enthralling” design study a “taster” of things to come. Scheduled for a launch sometime next year, the 8 Series will debut in traditional coupe form, though it’s rumored to get a droptop variant to better rival the S-Class Cabriolet.

Selling cars has lately become a more difficult business than in years past, but selling high-zoot luxury barges remains a very lucrative practice. BMW hopes to increase cash flow from the upper rungs of its lineup with the returning model.

“The number 8 has always represented the pinnacle of sports performance and exclusivity at BMW,” said Harald Krüger, chairman of BMW AG’s board of management, in a statement.

“The forthcoming BMW 8 Series Coupe will demonstrate that razor-sharp dynamics and modern luxury can go hand-in-hand. This will be the next model in the expansion of our luxury-car offering and will raise the benchmark for coupes in the segment. In the process, we will strengthen our claim to leadership in the luxury class.”

While the Concept 8 Series bears a couple of design study hallmarks — namely, no door handles and side mirrors too small of be of practical use — the sheetmetal is another story. The deeply scalloped flanks, front fender vent, 21-inch wheels and hood power bulge telegraphs muscle and athleticism, while the flowing roofline, lengthy proportions and pillarless side glass is all about grace and elegance. BMW wants to attract both camps with this two-seater.

Of course, there’s no mistaking the brand with those twin kidneys up front. Because the automaker plans to field a range of models in the 8 Series lineup, including M variants, lesser offerings might not appear so visually aggressive. The gaping air vents and carbon fiber flourishes are likely candidates for deletion.

While the automaker hasn’t provided any images of the vehicle’s interior, it insists you’ll find it both sporty and luxurious. Shocker, that.

Neither has BMW dished any specifications for the upcoming model, though it is expected to field existing eight-and 12-cylinder mills from the BMW Group parts bin. Between BMW and Rolls-Royce, there’s no shortage of capable powerplants. Pricing should see the model put distance between itself and the 7 Series, with one source claiming a starting price of about $165,000.

[Images: BMW Group]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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5 of 23 comments
  • IBx1 IBx1 on May 26, 2017

    Too chunky. The hood is short, the body is too tall, and all the stupid surfacing makes the car look small. The interior is straight out of 2005. I'll take the Lexus any day.

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    • JohnTaurus JohnTaurus on May 27, 2017

      Yep, that not-shown interior is AWFUL. Hate it. "....the automaker hasn’t provided any images of the vehicle’s interior..." Yep, SO 2005!

  • Stingray65 Stingray65 on May 26, 2017

    This is another reason why the Germans rule the luxury markets. GM produces nice looking concept cars for Cadillac or Buick but almost never actually produces anything similar because the "numbers don't work". Premium brands need some halo cars, and the US luxury brands (and Acura, Infiniti, Volvo) don't do halos.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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