New flagship coupe forms as an indirect replacement for the two-door 6 Series when sales start at the end of the year.
Is this really the replacement for the 6 Series?
Kind of, although BMW hasn’t said so officially. The 8 Series Coupe you see here in official pictures is the brand’s new flagship coupe that was once previewed by a concept version last year.
It is commonly known within Munich that the two-door 8 Series is intended as an indirect replacement for the 6 Series counterpart.
This explains why the vehicle dimensions of the 8 Series isn’t any longer. It is 4,851mm long with 2,822mm of it going in between the front and rear axles.
However, it’s slightly wider and shorter in height, at 1,902mm and 1,346mm respectively, to help for an athletic appearance.
Note the cleaner interior design in the 8 Series which may probably form as a template for other future models from BMW.
The cabin features digital readouts and new console design housing a restyled gear lever.
Can it take the fight straight to the S-Class variation?
The S-Class Coupe from Mercedes-Benz is still the slightly longer car with 5,027mm length and 2,945mm wheelbase.
Which is why the initial engine line-up BMW has announced will make the 8 Series Coupe avoid direct eye contact with its intended competitor from Stuttgart.
Kicking off the range is the 840d powered by 320hp 3.0-litre diesel-turbo with performance and economy ratings of 0-100kph in 4.9sec and 16kpl.
The other one is the M850i coming with 530hp 4.4-litre petrol V8. Despite that familiar displacement, BMW says the engine has been re-engineered with new parts to reduce friction.
As well, the two twin-scroll turbos are now placed within the cylinder banks which is a format Mercedes-AMG has been hollering (‘hot vee’) in its existing 4.0-litre V8 for quite some time already.
And when fitted to a tweaked eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive transmission, the M850i goes from 0-100kph in 3.7sec. An electronic rear differential lock is also available in the M850i for more handling precision.
The S-Class Coupe is not being sold with a diesel option or an intermediate performance version. The one offered in Thai showrooms is the 15 million baht S500.
But the S has AMG power in other markets…
That’s true, but they are more like fully blown AMG versions such as the eight-cylinder S63 and 12-pot S65, both producing in excess of 600hp.
Because of this presence, BMW is planning to top the 8 Series range with the pending M8. Already confirmed by BMW last year in prototype form, the M8 should crank up the power of the new V8 to somewhere between 600-650hp.
Expect the new 8 Series to be launched in Thailand toward the end of this year with prices ranging between 10-15 million baht. That’s basically the price of the 6 Series Coupe with V8 power.
