The first pictures of the concept that will precede the incoming BMW 8 Series has hit the web just ahead of its official unveil at the annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy. The high end event plays host to numerous automakers keen to show off their luxury items; usually concept cars.
With the news that the 6 Series will eventually be discontinued to make way for the successor’s name change and repositioning above the 7 Series, at least numerically, this new concept looks to be a worthy follow up, looking much sportier than the base 6 Series coupe ever did.
Mind you, it’s still a concept at this point, and of course BMW would elect to make it as visually striking as possible. However, there’s a high likelihood that the production model will remain faithful to this early version which features a far larger pair of kidney grills than we’re used to seeing, accompanied by very slim headlamps and aggressive air intakes on either side.
There are also deep side gills along the front fender, just behind the wheel arches, that create a pronounced contour along the car’s side while informing the door and its frame. Above the rear wheel are the muscular haunches that were prominently featured in the teaser sketch, giving the car a purposeful sports GT look.
It remains a 2+2 cabin configuration with what looks to be two full sized seats behind the front pair, though we can only assume that the roofline here is as elegantly tapered as in the 6 Series, so adults may still have a problem with headroom as well as overall comfort issues over long journeys.
Much like the current 5 Series and 7 Series, the 8 Series will be built around BMW’s new CLAR architecture, utilising copious amounts of aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced polymers to keep weight low but structural rigidity high.
There’s more speculation concerning what lies under the bonnet, though, specifically at the high end. BMW will likely use their 3.0-litre straight sixes in the lower grades, but for the range topping variants it’s a toss-up between the 4.4-litre bi-turbo V8 that powered the M6 Coupe or, perhaps more interestingly, the 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 that drives the M760i xDrive. After all, the previous 8 Series used a V12.
We’ll have more once the concept makes its full debut.
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