On Monday we showed off some leaked images of the new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe — the four-door version of the company's new luxury coupe. It's now Wednesday, and the big-Beemer has been officially unveiled.
As you'd expect, there are limited surprises on the visual side (inside and out). The new 8 looks fab in press images, with designers clearly having made an effort to sculpt and shape the car to reflect light in all manner of ways.
The big news from the release is BMW's engine line-up.
At launch, the new 8 Gran Coupe will be offered overseas with three different engines; a diesel 6-cylinder, a petrol 6-cylinder, and a petrol V8.
The former and latter aren't a huge shock. They're the engines that appear in the already released 8; a 3.0-litre diesel making 235kW/680Nm, and a 4.4-litre TwinPower Turbo V8 making 390kW/750Nm.
But, slotting in the middle is one of BMW's signature six-pots. It's a 3.0-litre TwinPower Turbo unit making 250kW/500Nm. It's mates to an eight-speed automatic, with an all-wheel drive model available.
The all-wheel drive petrol six cylinder is said to accelerate from still to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds with an eventual limited top speed of 250km/h. This compares to the V8 engine's 3.9-second 0–100km time, with its top speed also limited to 250km/h.
Apart from engines, BMW have offered the dimensional differences between this and its coupe sibling. Overall, the four-door is 228.6mm longer, 30.5mm wider, and 55.9mm taller than the coupe. The wheelbase has also been extended, with 200.7mm of extra dimension giving rear passengers more wiggle room.
Rear headroom naturally grows by 86.4mm, while legroom grows by an ample 180.3mm. Those wanting to put their golf clubs in the boot should have no trouble, with 19.8L of extra space compared to the coupe.
The main question now is what models are going to be available in New Zealand.
As reported previously, we don't expect the diesel models to come here. However, the inline petrol six-cylinder and the V8 are probably both shoe-ins.
Check out the full BMW 8 Gran Coupe gallery below.
