What's the news?
We've not long digested the form and function of the second-generation BMW 8 Series as a coupe, and now here's the German marque confirming a soft-top version will go into production very soon.
BMW is currently testing an 8 Series Convertible prototype, in heavy disguise, in the red-hot climate of Death Valley - or, more accurately, running it between one of the hottest places on Earth and Las Vegas.
A critical phase of the development of the 8 Series Convertible, the USA test runs have been conducted in temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius, but there's more to the programme than extreme heat and extreme heat alone. The BMW has also been through very dusty conditions on the edge of the desert, taken on congested traffic in Vegas, driven on gravel tracks around Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada and also done some long-distance hauls from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains and back.
BMW's engineers are using the unrelenting furnace of Death Valley to test the toughness of the 8 Series Convertible's onboard electrics, its hi-fi system, the sensors and cameras required for the driver assist systems, displays for BMW Operating System 7.0 (otherwise known as iDrive 7), connectivity functions, seat adjustment and, of course, the efficacy of the automatic climate control.
A further testing by-product of the Eight's journeys in the States is the Hoover Dam. The electromagnetic waves generated by the dam's hydropower turbines are exceptionally strong, meaning it's what BMW calls the 'ultimate yardstick' for testing the resistance of the electronic systems to external sources of interference.
The dusty conditions also allow the engineers to see how the Convertible's multi-layer soft-top and its folding mechanism stand up to the rigours of such conditions.
Anything else?
As well as the raging inferno of Death Valley, the 8 Series will also enjoy the biting cold of the Winter Testing Centre in Arjeplog, Sweden, while the handling will be shaken down on BMW's Miramas test track in southern France - and, naturally, the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
We'll bring you more details on the BMW 8 Series Convertible, as and when we get them.