The new generation of BMW's 8 Series made its world premiere in the town of Le Mans on June 15, the night before the start of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours, local time in France, and it will also go on sale worldwide in November this year. The new car will serve as BMW's future flagship sports car, competing with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe, on which BMW will also build the 8 Series Convertible, the 8 Series Gran Coupe and the BMW M8, the M Family flagship that BMW fans have been waiting for almost 30 years.
Model description.
As BMW's flagship sports car, the new generation of the BMW 8 Series adopts a more subversive design language, with a low, streamlined body revealing the distinctive air of a large GT car.
The twin-kidney grille has evolved into a single unit under the new design language, a design that is also reflected in the M Competition model and has a slimmer shape with a front-facing camera in the centre.
As a sporty product, the new 8 Series has an aggressive front bar with large air intake openings on both sides, which not only provide better cooling but also enhance the aerodynamic effect. The angel eyes inside the headlight clusters consist of a combination of LED daytime running lights and LED headlights, but of course, you can also opt for the more advanced laser headlights (option pictured above).
Side by side, as a large GT sports car this must be the most beautiful view of the whole car. The long front overhang and short rear overhang, combined with the curved rear design, give the car a very elegant look, while the aggressive waistline on the side shows off its sporty nature. The new double five-spoke wheels are also stylish and the wheel arches create a sense of power. In terms of dimensions, the car measures 4843mm in length, 1902mm in width, 1341mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2822mm.
At the rear, the overall design of the new car is the same as the concept car, with an overall muscular feel. The tail light clusters feature LED light bands, which will be a future design idea for BMW, and the rear wheel brake vents on both sides with a bilateral two-exit exhaust layout make the new car look very killer.
To further enhance performance, several carbon fibre components are available, including a carbon fibre roof, vents, exterior mirror housings, rear spoiler and rear diffuser, to further reduce the weight and centre of gravity.
As the flagship sports car, the new generation of the 8 Series is a change from the previous BMW family interior design, with a more luxurious look derived from the concept car. The new generation of the in-car infotainment system, I Drive version 7.0, will be the first to be fitted on the car, including a full LCD instrument cluster with different styles and a separate LCD screen embedded in the centre console, which can be customised. In addition, the screen can be operated in four modes: knob, touch, voice and gesture.
Below the centre screen is the air conditioning control area, which BMW has designed with traditional physical buttons, and the car also features the latest BMW Crystal electronic gearshift lever, very new and similar to that used in the BMW Me. As a GT-type sports car, a 2+2 seating layout is a must, with the front seats featuring a very wraparound sports seat design and wrapped in premium leather for a more design-oriented look.
Powering the new 8 Series M850i x Drive is a 4.4T V8 petrol engine with maximum power and peak torque of 530 hp and 750 NM respectively. The transmission is mated to an 8-speed manual gearbox and is equipped with x Drive four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and a key-optimised rear differential and suspension system with optional active roll suppression. The car accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of 250km/h.
The new 8 Series 840d x Drive is powered by a 3.0T L6 diesel engine. The maximum power and peak torques are 320 hp and 680 NM respectively, and the transmission is also mated to an 8-four manual gearbox. The car accelerates from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds and has a top speed of 250km/h.
Model history.
The prototype of the 8 Series was born in 1987, and the car went into production in 1989 under the code name E31, the largest sports car built by BMW since the discontinuation of the BMW M1. The flat front end, the straight, high waistline and the contemporary flip lights made it a sci-fi classic of the 1990s.
However, due to its high positioning and the use of the most advanced automotive technology at the time, the price of the first generation of the 8 Series was too high, and the oil crisis and financial crisis led to the first generation of the 8 Series not meeting sales expectations. The first generation of the 8 Series was discontinued in 1999 and its successor was the BMW 6 Series, revived by Chris Bangor in 2004.
The 6 Series, also a GT-type sports car, was initially unpopular due to its 'Bangor rear end' styling, but BMW was determined to preserve the tradition of large GT sports cars by developing it further and giving birth to the BMW M6. In 2011, the new generation of the 6 Series, created by current BMW Vice President Hoytunck, was born and BMW continued to develop the large GT car market, but at this time the four-door coupe class created by the Mercedes-Benz CLS began to explode in the market, and the most significant feature of this generation of the 6 Series was the introduction of the four-door 6 Series GranCoupe, which received unanimous acclaim.
With Mercedes-Benz recapturing the large GT market with the current S-Class coupe, the BMW 6 Series was no longer able to compete with it in terms of brand and class, and the BMW 8 Series was reintroduced and debuted as a concept in 2017.
Competitors.
Looking at the new generation 8 Series in production, its subversive design language has brought the car up to the level of the S-Class Coupe and Lexus LC, two large GT sports cars, in terms of creating a sense of luxury, while the power levels of the three are almost equal, and in the future BMW will also build a more powerful M8 based on the new generation 8 Series, so if there is a question of who is the most direct competitor of the new generation 8 Series, it goes without saying that it must be Mercedes-Benz However, the 8 Series is a sporty car at heart, followed by luxury and comfort, which is the biggest difference between it and the S-Class Coupe.
Editor's comment.
After nearly 20 years, the return of the BMW 8 Series represents the BMW brand's gesture towards a higher level of power. If the mere return does not shake off powerful rivals, the break with traditional design and the creation of a more luxurious body with technological connotations are more strengths that the BMW 8 Series has come up with. It can be said that the BMW 8 Series is the trump card in the hands of the BMW brand, but BMW may not have only one trump card, the next 8 With the 8 Series Convertible, the 8 Series Gran Coupe and the M8, BMW is holding a set of "8 Series Family" combinations in its hands. We look forward to the outcome.
About the Creator
Goff Leo
The car sped on, the hum of the engine, sometimes low, sometimes high, like a long, continuous moan.
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