What's the news?
Well, this rather gorgeous thing is, officially, the new BMW 8 Series and the Munich company has just launched it at the Le Mans 24-hour race, where, not coincidentally, the M8 GTE race car is pounding around in the day-and-night-and-day race.
Exterior
On the style front, the new 8 Series clearly takes a big lift from last year's Concept 8, but it does seem to have piled on some pounds compared to the concept version and looks surprisingly like the old 6 Series Coupe from some angles. It does keep the ultra-slim lights, at least, which can be optionally-equipped with laser-light technology for long-range high-beams.
The body and chassis contain a lot of aluminium, and BMW has transferred some of the lightweight tech from the i-series cars to the 8 Series, with some carbon-reinforced plastic used in places to keep the weight down as much as possible.
Interior
Inside, there's a new cabin layout with a more squared-off architecture to the dash, a new central touchscreen and new all-digital instruments, where the main dials sweep around the outer edges of the screen. The 8 Series also gets the latest version of BMW Connect, which can talk to your Apple and Android devices, lets you use your smartphone as a key and which can also connect to your in-house electronics, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home. "Hey, Google. Tell my M850i I think it's awesome..."
It should be quite practical, as it's a 2+2, not a two-seater, and there's a generous 420-litre boot.
Mechanicals
The new 8 Series shares its core chassis with the 5 Series and 7 Series, but it will be coming, initially, with a new engine - a heavily re-worked version of BMW's 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 developing 530hp and 750Nm of torque. That's enough, thanks partially to the standard xDrive four-wheel drive, to shove the M850i from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
That engine gets new turbos, a new Valvetronic variable timing system and specially-coated cylinders and pistons to bring down internal friction. It'll use an official 10.0 litres per 100km on the combined cycle (28mpg) and has a CO2 rating of 228g/km.
Alongside it in the showroom will be the 840d xDrive, which for now will form the base of the 8 Series range, and clocks in at a price of €125,725 in Ireland. It gets the same turbocharged straight-six 3.0-litre diesel as the 740d, with 320hp and 680Nm. Slower than the M850i? Of course, but hardly a slouch with a 0-100km/h time of just 4.9 seconds. Official fuel consumption is 5.9 litres per 100km (47mpg), with CO2 emissions of 154g/km. Later, there will be a hardcore 600hp M8 and a plugin hybrid version too.
For now, xDrive four-wheel drive is standard, which sends all its power to the rear wheels until it detects that you need extra traction, and you get Integral Active Steering (four-wheel- steering, which reduces the car's turning circle) and adaptive M suspension too. Both cars use the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and, sadly, there's no hope of a manual version of either for the moment.
It should be very safe, too - you get active cruise control that can deal with stop-start traffic, lane keeping steering, autonomous emergency braking and more.
Anything else?
Irish sales start in November and you can order one now, from €125,000.