Fitting? Maybe. Practical? Absolutely. Surprising? Not really.
Now that we’re locked into expecting a new member of the BMW family with the incoming 8 Series previewed by a stunning concept first revealed in Lake Como earlier this year at the Villa d’Este concours, the Munich automaker are also readying alongside it the M performance versions in a coupe and (surprisingly) convertible body styles.
Technically, the BMW range won’t be increasing in count since the incoming 8 Series range will supersede the 6 Series, but the fact that the high performance version is operating along the same (or at least very similar) development schedules to the base car shows how much investment is going into these line of cars.
Autocar spoke with Frank van Meel, president of BMW’s M division, who said: “The conception and development of the standard BMW 8 Series and the M model run in parallel. The future BMW M8 will build on the genes of the 8 Series and augment its DNA with added track ability and generous extra portions of dynamic sharpness, precision and agility. It all flows into a driving experience that bears the familiar BMW M hallmarks and satisfies our customers’ most exacting requirements.”
“We have been involved with the wider 8 Series project from the very beginning," van Meel continues. "Our challenge as engineers was actually to ensure that the standard car wasn’t too sporty for its customers, because we wanted the M8 to feel like a proper step up. Also, because not all 8 Series customers want an M car.”
Judging from the angered rumble heard when the M8’s development prototype was blasting around the Nurburgring, it’s possible that the car will use a more high-powered version of the updated S63 4.4-litre bi-turbo V8 seen on the recently revealed M5 sedan. Honestly, to our ears, it sounds like AMG’s M178.
Like the new M5, though, the first ever BMW M8 of the modern era should also feature the same M xDrive system to deliver power to all four corners with the ability to decouple from the front axle for a rear-wheel experience.
It has not been confirmed what the 8 Series will be linked to most closely within the larger BMW family, but the smart money points to it being derived from the CLAR platform that underpins the new 7 Series and 5 Series, likely soon to be the foundational layer to the next 3 Series as well.
Van Meel declined to comment on either of those possibilities, but wished to underline how much the BMW and its M division in particular would like to impress with both the 8 Series and its high performance companion, adding: “We certainly want to make a statement with this car. It will sit at the very top of our model range and, for now, we have no confirmed plans for any series production model above it, so we understand it must have a specification suiting its position in our hierarchy.”
Even though the guesstimations prior to the all-new M5 revealing its powerplant specifications indicated that an M8 with over 447kW was a shoo-in, it now seems equally likely that the same 441kW output will be maintained, especially if BMW follows the trend line established between the F10 M5 and F12 M6.
If the Concept 8 Series is anything to go by, BMW is pushing their newest flagship coupe further upmarket and purposefully into the territory of the Mercedes-Benz SL. Thusly, the 8 Series would command a significant starting premium over any equivalent 6 Series of its time. Following that, the M8 would naturally be even more expensive, balancing the luxury and high performance in a way that BMW has not tackled since, well, the original 8 Series of 1989, notably with its V12 motor. Interesting times ahead.
Both the production spec 8 Series and M8 are due to debut early in early 2018, possibly with the new 8er beating it by some margin to the showrooms while the M division run their final set of tweaks.
For more on BMW cars, check out our Showroom.
