Some of us might already be mourning BMW 6 Series Coupe ceasing production, although that seems to be relegated to examples bound for North America. Either way, the larger GT/Coupe mantle within BMW will be passed along at some point to the upcoming 8 Series, teased for the first time ahead of its debut at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at month's end.
BMW AG Chairman, Harald Krüger said: “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. The 8 Series Coupe will underpin our claim to leadership in the luxury segment. I can tell you today that this will be a true luxury sports coupe.”
Now, it’s not made clear whether the car they are planning to unveil at Lake Como in a couple of weeks will be a production-spec version of the upcoming 8 Series, but it’s fair to guess that it will indeed be something very close to the final product, at least as far as its design is concerned. BMW will have plenty of time to iron out any other wrinkles the development car may have prior to its 2018 launch.
Judging from the outline, the car does seem to give less priority to rear occupant space in its predicted 2+2 interior layout, with a longer bonnet in proportion to the size of the passenger cell, which itself is more swept back than it is in the current 6 Series Coupe.
There also appears to be a more fastback-esque roofline and some pronounced haunches over the rear wheel arches that flow into the rear lip spoiler. Apart from that, the new 8 Series will almost certainly be built upon the same lightweight CLAR platform that underpins the newest 7 Series and 5 Series, but engines will likely be carried over from the proven current range of motors, with most variants drawing from a 3.0-litre six-cylinder while more powerful versions using a 4.4-litre bi-turbo V8.
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