Sharp-eyed spy photographers recently caught BMW testing a new coupe—a big new coupe. It appears to be larger than a 6 Series—so it might be the mysterious new 8 Series coupe about which rumors have been flying for the past year.
The E31 BMW 8 Series Coupe was produced from 1989 to 1999 and supplanted the classic E24 6 Series. It was a sharp-looking car that was fitted with increasingly bigger engines, up to the 375-horsepower S70B56 V12, but it never sold in the numbers for which BMW hoped. Just over 31,000 were built over ten years and only about 7,200 of those came to North America.
BMW restarted the 6 Series with the E63 and E64 in 2003 and launched the latest 6 Series—the F12/F13 in 2011 with the F06 6 Series Gran Coupe following in 2013. The second- and third-generation 6 Series have sold much better than the 8 Series did—which is not saying all that much—but with the advent of the 5 Series Gran Tourismo and the 6 Series Gran Coupe, the lines between coupe and sedan have been muddled. Speculation is that BMW thinks that it needs a new, larger, range-topping coupe and that it will be the new 8 Series.
If that is true, then perhaps the big coupe spotted in winter testing is the new 8 Series. It is long, low, and wide and its two doors might open on a 2+2 configuration inside. We easily envision a convertible version and—despite our personal reluctance to accept four-door coupes—a Gran Coupe version.
BMW may have previewed what it had in mind for a new 8 Series back in 2013 with the Grand Lusso Coupe Concept.
If BMW green lights a new 8 Series Coupe, it would most likely share the CLAR platform with the 7 Series Sedan. An 8 Series would not mean the death of the 6 Series, however. With a large coupe at the top of the BMW food chain, the 6 Series could become the smaller, lighter, sportier two-door that could do battle with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Jaguar.
While registering trademarks does not guarantee a new model, it's worth remembering that BMW has registered the names 850, 860, M860, and M8. Wishful thinking on our part hopes that means the smallest 8 Series engine would be a V8, and that the V12 would return to the 8 Series—turbocharged, no doubt—and might bring well in excess of 600 horsepower to an M version.
Even thought we didn't see a trademark for an 840e, it's hard to imagine BMW would not have an electrified version of the 8 Series. If there will be an 8 Series. —Scott Blazey
In this video of a big coupe driving in the snow, try to visualize it without the camouflage and the fake body panels. And pay no attention to that big convertible and the other camouflaged BMWs tagging along.
[Photos and video courtesy of Autoevolution.]
