2018 BMW 8 Series growls into life

WE ARE unashamedly excited about the next-gen BMW 8 Series here at Wheels HQ.

Even with only a few, sketchy details to go on, our mouths are salivating at the prospect, and this teaser video of a close-to-production prototype getting sideways has only heightened the anticipation.

Car companies love to make videos like this one, which shows the 8 Series coupe sliding around a racetrack at the hands of a professional driver. It doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know before; the car is still in full camouflage garb to conceal the styling details, and there is no technical information to accompany the video. It’s a teaser, and exists purely to build hype.

Quite often we let things like this go through to the keeper, but this time around we’re playing the game. We really, badly want this car to be good, and so far the signs are all positive.

What we do get out of this clip is another look at its perfect sports car proportions and a fresh taste of the 8 Series’ engine and exhaust sound. Those expecting a full-bodied V12 wail harking back to the E31 8 Series (1989-’99) should be aware that this is a totally new thing.

The flagship M8 model is expected to employ a version of the M5’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with at least 441kW and 750Nm outputs and a 0-100km/h acceleration figure of around 3.4sec to put it on par with the iconic super sedan.

BMW has been using its European proving ground in Aprilia, Italy, to optimise the driving dynamics of the 8 Series, suggesting the production version is close to finalised and on track for launch later this year. The video was filmed during its development at the Italian facility.

“The test drives under the most severe conditions show that we are right on target with our concept for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe. The vehicle dynamics values already achieved are absolutely impressive. Our customers and fans can look forward to a genuine sports car,” said Klaus Fröhlich, the BMW R&D man who oversees the test programme in Italy.