The all-new BMW 8-Series Coupe unveiled at Le Mans

ABU DHABI: The BMW 8-Series Coupe is ready to make its biggest reveal in November this year at Le Mans (or the 24 Heures du Mans, as the perfectionists would like to call it) in France. The two-door coupe is outlined to provide S-Class rivaling luxury with 911 level of precise performance. It will be manufactured at the BMW Dingolfing plant which is also the home for the new 7-Series  Sedan.



The Munich-based car maker opted the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race weekend as the venue to announce BMW 8-series Coupe globally. This variant is extremely dynamic and holds the high-ranking status within BMW’s product range.



From putting purpose into perspective, this BMW lineup is meant to kick-start sale into the super-luxury market. The all-new 8-Series Coupe features a low-down BMW kidney grille with a hexagonal outline that gets widens towards the bottom. The bonnet comes with the long contoured design having rounded off the rear windscreen, along with slim window graphic. For the very first time, the ‘slimmest’ LED headlamps have been fitted to a BMW while offering the optional laser lamp technology.



In the 8-series, the wide track and long wheelbase replicate into more space for the rear passengers. The exterior dimensions of this super-luxury car measure up to 4,843 mm in length, 1,902 mm in width, 1,341 mm in height, and a wheelbase of 2,822 mm.



The BMW 8-Series Coupe gets cutting-edge technology like the BMW’s Live Cockpit Professional integrated with a fully digital instrument cluster. The cabin is super luxurious as it gets bespoke seats, an improved variant of BMW’s head-up display,  standard 10.25-inch central touchscreen, and 12.3-inch driving instrument display. The iDrive system gets an excellent gesture and touch control with the traditional rotary dial. In the coupe, lightweight material like aluminium is used to develop the engine, doors, wheel, and bonnet. Whereas, the central tunnel is made from CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) and the brace tubing in the cabin is made with the Magnesium that results in the car weighing around two tonnes.

The 8-series Coupe will initially come in two engine variants for international markets, i.e., the M850i xDrive (petrol power plant) and the 840d xDrive (a diesel motor). The former is more hardcore of the two where M prefix tells volumes about the Bimmer’s intent. It is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo gasoline V8 petrol unit that produces 530 PS and 750 Nm of torque between 1,800 rpm and 4,600 rpm. With the limited top speed of 250 kmph, it can achieve 0-100 kmph speed in 3.7 seconds.

As the V8 engine in M850i variant is tweaked significantly, the 8-series stands as a strong mid-range quintessential for a long distance tourer. The engine is mated to a rear-biased all-wheel drive (AWD) system and an 8-speed ZF-sourced automatic gearbox.

On the other hand, 840d xDrive is powered by a 3.0-litre twin turbo six-cylinder diesel that produces 320 PS and 680 Nm of peak torque. This variant gets enabled to sprint from 100 kmph in 4.9 seconds. Both models are well equipped with an 8-speed transmission unit that increased the gear ratio to aid the performance.



As the BMW’s latest flagship was developed beside the M8 GTE race car, its performance would likely to leave an impact on the 8-Series Coupe’s salability. But this time BMW can certainly handle the 8-Series smoothly, the way it handled 5.2-meter luxury sedan.