The 8 Series Concept has already been rendered in two flavors a day after its debut. And once, just once, we wish a major manufacturer would look at a shooting brake rendering and have the stones to put it into production!
X-Tomi did both of these pretty fast. The 8 Series Cabrio image is a great preview because BMW will build the car, unlike with the original 8er. But we're really not that excited about a sort-top, even if it's attached to an S-Class rival.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn has so much more presence, with its fancy coach doors and imposing grille. It's not like the 8 Series is skipping on the grill department, as the concept is covered in shiny trinkets. However, the 8er Shooting Brake has a unique presence we barely see in the automotive industry.
Audi was probably very close to approving a Shooting Brake, as one of the Prologue concept triplets had such a version. But they had two Audi TT-based studies that never got approved either.
So if you want a 4-seat, 3-door performance car, you're pretty much stuck with Ferrari, which is not necessarily a bad thin. In recent years, the Italians have stepped up their reliability and customer care. What's more, the FF's replacement has a "downsized" version called the GTC4Lusso T, technically the world's first 4-seat GT with a twin-turbo V8.
The Italian 3,855 cc engine produces 610 PS and 760 Nm of torque, numbers that are pretty close to what we suspect to see from the M8 Coupe (600 PS and 700 Nm or slightly more). If de-restricted, both AWD monsters would be able to drag race to about 200 km/h (186 mph).
For the convertible and coupe at least, BMW is likely to let its richest customers enjoy a V12 as well. What we can say with relative certainty is that the 8 Series will have an 850i model and at least one six-cylinder engine.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn has so much more presence, with its fancy coach doors and imposing grille. It's not like the 8 Series is skipping on the grill department, as the concept is covered in shiny trinkets. However, the 8er Shooting Brake has a unique presence we barely see in the automotive industry.
Audi was probably very close to approving a Shooting Brake, as one of the Prologue concept triplets had such a version. But they had two Audi TT-based studies that never got approved either.
So if you want a 4-seat, 3-door performance car, you're pretty much stuck with Ferrari, which is not necessarily a bad thin. In recent years, the Italians have stepped up their reliability and customer care. What's more, the FF's replacement has a "downsized" version called the GTC4Lusso T, technically the world's first 4-seat GT with a twin-turbo V8.
The Italian 3,855 cc engine produces 610 PS and 760 Nm of torque, numbers that are pretty close to what we suspect to see from the M8 Coupe (600 PS and 700 Nm or slightly more). If de-restricted, both AWD monsters would be able to drag race to about 200 km/h (186 mph).
For the convertible and coupe at least, BMW is likely to let its richest customers enjoy a V12 as well. What we can say with relative certainty is that the 8 Series will have an 850i model and at least one six-cylinder engine.