If basketball players start out with hoop dreams, then BMW is having coupe dreams. The German automaker is planning to augment its coupe range upward in size and price with a resurrected 8-series model, and it has finally given us an official peek at what that two-door will look like.
Tweeted out via BMW Group’s official account, the image shows the car will have an extremely sleek roofline that ends in a prominent ducktail spoiler integrated into its trunk, BMW’s signature quad-headlight peepers, and a tiny Hofmeister kink at the terminus of the rear quarter-window. The bulging fender over the rear wheel would be new design territory for BMW and seems to us like an unsubtle riff on the similar line on Bentley’s Continental GT coupe (a car this 8-series might compete with). All of these features are in line with what we’ve seen on camouflaged prototypes that our spy photographers caught last year.
CEO Krüger: “The next step of our product offensive is taking shape. A glimpse of the new BMW 8 Series Coupé.” #bmw#8series#bmwgrouphttp://pic.twitter.com/re1FhTZpIA
— BMW Group (@BMWGroup) May 11, 2017
We know that the 8-series will be based on the 7-series sedan, meaning any engine that powers that four-door could conceivably find its way into this coupe. Realistically, we’d rule out the 7’s four-cylinder gas-electric combo and, certainly in the United States, any diesels available overseas. That leaves the 7’s twin-turbo inline-six, twin-turbo V-8, and likely the M760i’s twin-turbo V-12 as solid choices—and it would preserve our right to declare the future 8-series all ate up with motor. We expect both rear- and all-wheel drive to be offered.
Look for the coupe to make its debut later this year as a 2018 model with a price north of $80,000. If BMW restarts U.S. production of its 6-series coupe—which was halted in February—Americans would have their choice of a two-door at every level of the brand’s hierarchy, from the wee 2-series to the 4, 6, and 8.
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