The production 8 Series hasn’t yet debuted, but BMW is well into the launch, rolling out a concept, teasers, and a racecar in advance of its arrival. First BMW revealed the 8 Series Concept last May at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este (I could just keep saying that all day in my hopeless Italian accent), followed shortly thereafter by a photo shoot of a heavily camouflaged production M8, then the M8 GTE race car in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show (which raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona).
Now word on the interwebs (courtesy of BMWBlog) is that BMW will take the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show to reveal a Gran Coupe Concept of this delectable 8 Series, which will take over as the grand touring coupe and four-door sedan line from the 6 Series nameplate. It will be some time yet before BMW confirms the specs as this will be another concept, but all things point to a range-topping M8 powered by a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 making more than 615 horsepower and a version of the M5’s “M xDrive” all-wheel-drive system.
We also expect to see a more luxury-oriented grand tourer variation with the M760Li’s turbocharged 6.0L V12, a more modestly powered version of the 4.4-liter V8 turbo close to the 750i’s 445 hp and 480 lb-ft, and a plug-in hybrid variant BMW is promising in all its models. And if you’re itching to get your hands on any of these beauties, the 8 Series Coupe should be arriving this summer, followed by the Cabriolet late this year, but the Gran Coupe won’t show up until third quarter of 2019. Oh, and if gorgeous grand touring concepts don’t do it for you, BMW will also have the official reveal of the 2019 X4 and M5 Competition Package in Geneva.
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