BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe Leaked Ahead of Official Debut

Anthony Magagnoli
by Anthony Magagnoli

In case you weren’t sure if BMW was going to fill the gaping hole left in its lineup by the departure of the 6 Series Gran Coupe, early official photos have confirmed that it will. Recently leaked photos of the 8 Series Gran Coupe were confirmed by BMW to Car and Driver to be real and valid, coming ahead of the official unveiling on June 18th.

With a sleek, sloping roofline that leads to a duckbill lip on the decklid, the M850i xDrive Gran Coupe combines all of the low-slung presence of the Coupe with the practicality of 4-doors. The upward kick of the tail of the GC is much more aggressive than what is found on the Coupe. This could be form following function in order to maintain rear stability in this longer-roofed variant.

I have to say that I like this much better than the continuous downward slope on the rears of the Audi S7, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 4-door Coupe, or Porsche Panamera models.

Effectively replacing the 6 Series Gran Coupe in the lineup, the 8 Series GC will move further upscale to reside beside the M850i xDrive Coupe, which starts at $111,900. They will both feature a 523-hp twin-turbocharged V8 and all-wheel drive.

The last remaining 6 Series that is available is the $70,300 640i xDrive Gran Turismo — because people actually buy them, apparently. So, unless BMW rolls out lesser variants of the 8 Series than the M850i models, it may not be the same 6 Series buyer that makes the stretch to the 8.

Hopefully buyers will actually option their cars with 2-tone interiors, like the one shown here. Monotone black interiors are just too boring for cars that should otherwise be engaging to drive and own. The rear seat backs take on a cool cobra look that would be lost in a monotone finish.

With the M8 Coupe looming, it is a foregone conclusion that an M8 Gran Coupe will follow. It is expected to pack the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 of the M5, providing 600 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque to all 4 wheels, while retaining the selectable rear-wheel drive mode.

[Images: BMW via carbuyer.com.sg]

Anthony Magagnoli
Anthony Magagnoli

Following 10 years in Toyota's Production Engineering division, Anthony spent 3 years as a Vehicle Dynamics Engineer for FCA. From modest beginnings in autocross, he won a NASA SpecE30 National Championship and was the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge TC Rookie of the Year. Aside from being a professional racecar driver, he is a private driving coach and future karaoke champion.

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  • V16 V16 on Jun 18, 2019

    Indigo and linen 2-tone Nappa leather interior has been available in the Chrysler 300C for the past 5 model years. A striking color combination.

  • DEVILLE88 DEVILLE88 on Jun 19, 2019

    So BMW is copying the Panamera?? also i see a sedan............wheres the coupe???

  • 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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