Today, BMW released a video on their Youtube channel, as a quick reminder of what the E31 8 Series was and what it meant for the models that came after.
There's no doubt in anyone's mind, that the 8er was and still is one of the best cars ever to come out of BMW's plants and the numbers confirm it. According to the German company, this was the best selling V12 Coupe ever designed in Munich.
The range of top of the line technologies that were incorporated into the making of this car is impressive. As an example, this was the first Bimmer to be fitted with DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) and it had a drag coefficient of just 0.29, due to the body shape.
Now, we said that this might be something more than just a reminder of a great car. A while back BMW launched at the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza d'Este, in collaboration with Pininfarina, the so-called Gran Lusso Coupe concept, a car that is both beautiful and powerful.
The two have a lot in common. Looking at the Gran Lusso Coupe you'll instantly notice the elongated bonnet and massive fenders, whilst the C-Pillar hosts one letter and 2 numbers that immediately let you know what's hiding under, a V12 6-liter unit.
Talking about the engine, it's worth mentioning that the 8 Series also used a V12 engine but that one had a displacement of 5.6-liters and 380 HP, compared to the one used by the Gran Lusso Coupe that came out of the 760i model and has 544 HP.Other similarities include the overall shape of the cars, the missing B-Pillar and the luxurious interior decorated with high-tech bits and pieces.
If our line of though is correct, the timing of this video is, at least, peculiar. Especially after most publications (including us) speculated that there might be an 8 Series revival in the works, based on the BMW-Pininfarina collaboration.
Hoping that our guess is correct, we leave you in the hands of Niels Hamann, the author of "BMW 8er: Power & Hightech".
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