In addition to the Nurburgring, we’ve previously known that one of the main locales that BMW tests their cars is the undulating terrain of Wales. Other manufacturers also like the Scottish highlands and the Austrian Alps, among others.
As the pre-production testing of the all-new BMW 8 Series starts to wind down and the reveal of the fully realised version at Le Mans draws close, the Munich automaker has released video footage of one such test session in the Welsh countryside, where the wide open spaces are mostly void of spy photographers and the roars of V8 engines are soaked up by the dewey air and rolling landscape.
The M850i will be the first variant of the 8 Series to roll out of BMW’s Dingolfing plant later this year, and as such is the focus of this teaser. The works engineers behind the wheel are rightly, though expectedly, rhapsodic about how the car’s handling balance, the muscularity of its 395kW bi-turbo 4.4-litre S63 V8 engine, as well as its luxurious and comfortable but sharp-nosed character as a grand tourer or ‘Gentleman Racer’.
Another harped about the 8 Series’ close development ties with the M8 GTE and how each were informed by the knowledge gained by being engineered in tandem while one conveniently lists features such as four-wheel steering, active all-wheel drive, limited slip rear differential, and active roll stabilisation - most of these are reserved for the M850i, we presume.
Still heavily camouflaged, the car can be seen navigating the narrow and quite technical roads in a manner quite encouraging given that the new 8 Series is seen as a markedly more premium and upmarket product over the older 6 Series Coupe.
Given that the BMW Group also owns Rolls Royce, the car may well have similar levels of luxury, on-road refinement, and material quality, if not outright opulence. BMW does intend to reveal a sportier M8 at some point down the road, a successor to the M6 Coupe, but perhaps might even roll out a V12-powered M860i that can compete on pace and prestige with 12-cylinder GTs from Aston and Bentley.
