BMW had its Annual General Meeting today, and though that trio of words may be the most bland you read today, that can be remedied by a piece of information that was released shortly afterwards: we will see a new design study of the upcoming 8-Series in a few weeks’ time at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
For a few years now, BMW has used the event to show off a string of homages, studies, and vision vehicles (or whatever current buzzword is being used in place of “concept car”), to varied critical response. Though regardless of whether or not last year’s 2002 Hommage—this is the official naming convention that BMW’s chosen out of the word bank—checked off your boxes, this year’s reveal will likely be a bit closer to road car reality, as there is a forthcoming production model of the 8-Series that will likely be a more sedate rendition of the concept car’s styling.
The teaser image released today of the upcoming car’s stretched and svelte silhouette is giving us hope for BMW’s triumphant return to the large luxury coupe segment. Sure, the M6 has (quite literally) grown into that space, but we suspect the 8-Series will earn its bigger digit in both dimension and design. The fact that production of the 6 coupes slyly ended earlier this year was a hint that many picked up on as to the viability of a new 8, and we are excited to see things playing out as predicted.
The last time a BMW wore an 8-Series badge was almost two decades ago, and that first-generation 8er was a bonafide big luxo-coupe that we’d happily still slingshot up and down the Autobahn. All the packed-in tech and engineering that filled out that big body have earned that car a reputation for astronomic maintenance costs—an in-need M70 V12 is the stuff of nightmares—but there is little argument against the presence of a well-kept 850CSi.
Harald Krüger, chairman of BMW’s management board, has stated that, “The BMW 8 Series Coupe will build on our tradition of luxurious sports coupes and add a genuine dream car to our line-up—a slice of pure automotive fascination,” adding, “The 8 Series Coupe will underpin our claim to leadership in the luxury segment.”
The thought of a teutonic techno beast to whisk us handily and comfortably down the road is a happy one—sometimes cutting-edge modernity is appreciated at Petrolicious, and we’re confident this will fit the bill.
