BMW has already revealed its plans of introducing an all-new 8 series. It will be the flagship coupe in the line-up and was previewed in the 8-Series Concept showcased at the 2017 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Now the Bavarian carmaker has teased the Gran Coupe version of the same concept which will debut at next week's Geneva Motor Show.
The teaser image just shows a silhouette of the new concept where we can actually see the rear doors. The flowing roofline from the 8 Series Concept is retained but the new concept seems considerably longer in length. The sharp headlights and stylish tail lights also appear to be the same as seen on the previous concept. Similar to the earlier Concept, there are cameras for the rear-view mirror in the new Gran Coupe Concept.
The production-spec 8 Series Coupe has already been teased and might be launched pretty soon. It will be followed by a convertible as the test mule was spotted alongside the Coupe on many occasions. Now we are sure that the Gran Coupe will be the third body style for the 8 Series moniker. The high-performance M8, on the other hand, will arrive sometime next year. The all-new 8 Series indirectly replaces the slow-moving 6 Series in the BMW portfolio. And therefore the body style of the discontinued 6 Series can be seen on the new 8 Series.
The new 8 Series will be based on the scalable CLAR platform as the new-gen 5 and 7 Series. Being the flagship coupe, and based on the opulent 7, the 8 Series will be filled to the brim with all the BMW technologies be it safety, driver’s aid or comfort. Under the hood will be the same 4.4-litre V8 in the 750i xDrive, in the 850i guise. Whereas the regal 6.6-litre V12 will wear the 860i moniker when it arrives sometime later. We expect the entry-level 8 Series as well with inline-four and inline-six engine whereas a hybrid variant is not completely ruled out. The same powertrain will be shared within all three body styles.
More details will be revealed next week at the Geneva stage. BMW will be showcasing the new X4, i8 Roadster, 2 Series Active Tourer and the 2 Series Gran Tourer, and the M3 CS at the Geneva stage. There might even be a few more concepts like the X7 iPerformance as well. Keep watching this space for more details from the Geneva Stage.
