Tuesday 6th March 2018

BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe: Geneva 2018

More doors and more horses for 8 Series' Geneva show car

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BMW's upcoming 8 Series flagship has generated a lot of hype over the past year or so. Spotted testing in both coupe and convertible form, an M variant is confirmed and a GTE racer has been revealed. Other than driving the thing, it seems like there's nothing left to say, right? Well, not quite, actually, as Munich still has one last ace up its sleeve: the Gran Coupe.

Unveiled at the Geneva show today, the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe shows the company's full hand for the first time. Until now, we've had only shadowy teaser images to go by, but the concept points at a very aggressive styling tack. Wider kidney grilles and flared air intakes make for an ultra-aggressive front end, a theme which continues throughout the design, culminating in a ducktail spoiler and quad exhausts at the rear of the car.

BMW makes no mention of the engine, but thanks to the GTE's seventh-in-class run at January's Daytona 24, we know that the production car will use a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, expected to produce around 600hp. This would place it on a par with BMW's own, similarly equipped, F90 M5 but leave it a long way behind the circa 800hp output expected from Mercedes-AMG's upcoming rival, the GT4.

What's slightly less clear, is how that power will be put down. M division president Frank van Meel revealed that, while BMW's engineers sought "to ensure that the standard car wasn't too sporty for its customers", M division "wanted the M8 to feel like a proper step up". Going on to say "we have watched the luxury sports coupé market closely and we see lots of four-wheel-drive cars within it already... There's nothing to fear from four-wheel drive."

Seems like a pretty heavy hint, though the Concept Gran Coupe's own press release describes how the "muscular flared wheel arches offer a visual expression of the power working through the rear axle." An M5-style 'drift mode' seems the best bet, then, its effectiveness already having been proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

According to Senior VP of BMW Group Design Adrian van Hooydonk, "the BMW 8 Series will take over as the new flagship model of the BMW line-up and, as such, combines unsurpassed sportiness and elegance." Expect the M car, and it's four-doored sibling to be priced accordingly. More details on the final production spec, when we have them.

Inspired by the M8 Gran Coupe, but don't want to wait? There are plenty of very tempting M6 Gran Coupes in the PH Classifieds right now...

[TrickyTrevM5]

looks amazing.
I'm guessing 145k for the car when they put it on the market
big numbers in terms of performance, big numbers to be part of the ownership experience.
Looks great though.