BMW News: Rumorpile: Return of the BMW 8-Series?

[William Maley]

BMW doesn't have a vehicle that directly competes with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe, but Autocar says that could be changing.

 

According to sources at BMW's R&D center in Munich, there are two proposals on the table for a new 8-Series. The first is a four-door coupe - think 6-Series Gran Coupe in a larger size - and the second is a for a two-door coupe and cabriolet.

 

Why is BMW considering a competitor to the S-Class Coupe? Because they want to experience the same profits that Mercedes is currently enjoying. According to internal studies, Mercedes is earning up to 30,000 Euros on every S-Class they sell. That turns into a tidy profit of up to billion Euros in a year.

 

Now if BMW decides to go forward with either option, Autocar says a concept is likely to appear in 2018. A production model would follow two years later, using the 7-Series platform.

 

Source: Autocar

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[G. David Felt]

This should be interesting to see how they attack MB, if they use traditional gas powered power trains or if they do it only as Hybrid / EV's?

 

This continues to prove that we live in interesting times.

[ccap41]

No way does BMW have the ability to make a car look as good as an S-Class Coupe. It's elegant and powerful looking, gorgeous car. 

 

Good luck BMW. 

[G. David Felt]

No way does BMW have the ability to make a car look as good as an S-Class Coupe. It's elegant and powerful looking, gorgeous car. 

 

Good luck BMW. 

 

So your saying this 2016 S Class is better looking than the BMW 8 Series Concept?

 

2016 S Class 4 Door

 

2016 S Class 2 door Coupe

 

BMW 8 Series Concept

 

I say they both pale in comparison to this Cadillac!

 

Though I know some feel Cadillac should build this to compete against the S Class and 8 Series

[ccap41]

I don't think the concept 8 looks good at all. If they ditched the GTE race car fender flares and front fascia it would look better. The area right around the headlights looks terrible and like they put a wide body kit over the OEM headlights. It genuinely looks bad to me. Not just bad in comparison to the S-Class coupe and El Miraj but just not a good looking front end and "fender flares". The cabin shape looks super sharp and like it has A LOT of potential though.

 

I genuinely think the S-Class Coupe looks slightly better than the El Miraj and the thing I like most about it(and most other MB siblings) is the body lines through the doors and onto the rear 1/3 behind the doors but in front of the wheel. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the El Miraj, I just think the S-Class Coupe is one of the cleanest, sexiest cars to have been produced. It's large enough that they got to scuplt it as they wanted so it's got some curves and because it's large it has a presence to it. I just love it. 

 

The El Miraj has just a tad more "gnarly" to it that takes away just a bit for me. It's super cool but the lines instead of curves don't work as well on THIS TYPE of car. CTS-V and E63 AMG... the lines look MUCH better than the curves of the AMG. 

[oldshurst442]

This rendering is just a BMW 6 Series in rendering form...

 

Larger and a roof line and green house not as sporty...so...that 8 Series rendering is...an uglier version of the 6 Series.

[balthazar]

BMW's problem is, it's design 'language' is just a decades- old regurgitation of the same ol', same ol'. 

Even the CGI piece just looks like flares on an old BMW.

[smk4565]

The 8-series better be a 2 door, and not another 4-door coupe thing or some odd body style, but a real 2 door coupe.  I would actually style it more like the 90s 8-series.  The 90s 850ci looks better than anything in their current line up.

I guess they better add a drop top version too, because:

[balthazar]

God, that's wretched.

[G. David Felt]

The 8-series better be a 2 door, and not another 4-door coupe thing or some odd body style, but a real 2 door coupe.  I would actually style it more like the 90s 8-series.  The 90s 850ci looks better than anything in their current line up.

I guess they better add a drop top version too, because:

 

Interesting a Jelly Bean that has been squished and so now you see cracked lines down the side.

 

Interesting.

[ccap41]

^ LOL that's the only part about it I like. I've never really been a fan of anyting BMW outside of their bread and butter 3/4 and 5 series, and their M variants. Nothing else grabs my attention and the only reason those do. Maybe their design language just doesn't work on bigger vehicles for me. 

BMW's problem is, it's design 'language' is just a decades- old regurgitation of the same ol', same ol'. 

Even the CGI piece just looks like flares on an old BMW.

110% agree. Looks like they tried to make a little GTE Z4 out of a barge. 

[Suaviloquent]

The time for the Elmiraj to come to fruition has passed. Too late, they missed the moment, they could've just made the ELR look like the Elmiraj and history would've been different.

 

Unless you guys expect an NSX style promise and delivery... because that's what it'd amount to, a glorious striptease early on and then a collective "yeah, that's nice, but it's too late" multiple years later.

 

The thing is...there is a lot of inertia when it comes to car designs these days.

 

Lookit here, even Mr. DFelt posted an article about the Camaro, where your focus group of past customers DO NOT want changes to styling. Also, if you're salient to an American car company's design ethos, you simultaneously do not like those of others... as if being mutually exclusive is something to be regarded.

 

Maybe it's because I believe cars these days are SO isomorphic.

 

They all offer you the same ending outcomes and value propositions. They really do.... at many levels.

[smk4565]

Right now Mercedes is the only game in town when it comes to full size coupes and convertibles, even the SL is the last of its breed for luxury roadsters.  The Lexus LF-LC coupe is more like an E-class coupe in size, Audi, Jaguar, Infiniti and Cadillac have nothing in the full size coupe/convertible space.  F-type the only roadster offering from that group.

[Suaviloquent]

Well, I guess being super-low volume leads to a sense of occasion. My idea of a real Elmiraj:

 

No one says you have to be cheap in this segment. Being more expensive is probably better, if you can go all out.

 

I would expect a low-volume, exact production replica of the Elmiraj concept, perhaps for 200 units for global consumption/year, go for over 3 large six figures a pop, easily...

 

But it really has to be all out. The best dead cow skins, exploded dead stars aka precious metals.... laser headlights...made in america of course, perhaps a Shinola timepiece - have a cross-branding debut so Shinola can also move upmarket... and a V8 engine. I don't care if it's a rebadged LS7. Do it. Or perhaps the supposed 4.2 bore'd and stroked to 4.4L perfection or a 4.2TT performance hybrid, with a voltec battery sandwich and motors to get over 600 hp....

 

Also the Cadillac Emblem better be CNC milled or even better milled by hand from a solid billet of Titanium, you know, for more inherent value...also, a 4K backup screen, a 4K central CUE display. and 4K digital guage cluster, and a 4K performance data recorder. Rich people need excellent built in dash cams too...

[G. David Felt]

^ I agree, Rich can afford it, so why not be the first out there with all bleeding edge tech. Why 4K when they have small 8K screens now and cameras. I also would love the emblem and other touches milled out of a solid billet. Can you imagine the feel of a solid door handle rather than the plastic ones many auto's have. I could enjoy some luxury like that.