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BMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First Time

When BMW came out with the original 8 Series, back in the era of shoulder pads and cassette players, it couldn't imagine that coupes would one day have four doors, AWD and a twin-turbo V8. But that's what we have here, their next flagship performance car, the M8 Gran Coupe.
BMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First Time 23 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
BMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First TimeBMW M8 Gran Coupe Spied Undergoing Winter Testing for the First Time
The Gran Coupe, our first encounter with the M8, presented itself as a concept last year. Prototypes were spied throughout 2018 as well, mostly at the Nurburgring track. But now it's time for the powerful four-door to play in the snow.

And play it did. The roads have been set up correctly for prototype testing in Scandinavia, allowing engineers to have a bit of fun and get this 2+ ton vehicle a bit sideways. Even from static shots, there's no mistaking opposite lock when you see it.

Yes, the M8 needs AWD to put down 600 horsepower or more, but this xDrive system is of the M-tuned variety and can send all the power to the back, not that you can't drift otherwise. Why have your M8 as a Gran Coupe when the 2-door is lighter and this faster? We can think of a few reasons. For example, this is going to be more expensive and larger, giving you extra street cred. Also, there's the "but honey, I'm not buying another sports car, this is for the family" argument.

Unmistakable M trinkets can be seen in these latest spyshots, such as the big cross-drilled brakes, M wheels, quad exhaust, and body kit. Besides that, production red paint is peaking from under the camo, which suggests the debut is only a few months away.

The longer wheelbase and re-distributed weight might make this Gran Coupe easier to drift than a standard M8. There's no doubt the formula is going to work. Not only has it been tested with the M6 Gran Coupe, but also by rivals such as the Porsche Panamera Turbo, Audi RS7 and recently the Mercedes-AMG GT 63S 4-door.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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