It’s been nearly four months since BMW first revealed the new 8 Series online, or what seems like an eternity. But this is actually the first time it’s been shown at a major motor show.
The 2018 Paris Auto Show, to be both obvious and specific, where the focus of the Bavarian automaker’s display has been more on the new 3 Series sedan. And little wonder, considering how vital the compact sports sedan is to the company’s sales. But the big coupe is at least as exciting. And we’ll tell you why.
For starters, the 8 Series naturally sits higher up in BMW’s lineup, of course. And it also packs more of a punch: where the 3 will offer an array of four- and six-cylinder engines, the M850i boasts a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 kicking out 523 horsepower (390 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque – nearly twice as potent as even the 330i that will, for the time being, serve as the top version of the new sports sedan.
It also gives the marque beloved by so many enthusiasts the world over a proper challenger to the likes of the Mercedes S-Class Coupe, the Lexus LC, and even (we dare say) the Aston Martin DB11. And that’s some heady territory, to be sure.
But more than all that is the spirit which the new flagship coupe evokes. While it essentially replaces the outgoing 6 Series, the new 8 Series revives a nameplate (and position in BMW’s lineup) we haven’t seen since the 1990s when the famously shark-nosed E31 model was last produced.
That in and of itself makes the arrival of the new 8 a cause for celebration, even if BMW is popping more the champagne corks this week for the launch of the new 3. So pour yourself a glass of bubbly (or whatever your poison) and delve into the live pics in the gallery below.