Flagship M8 coupe returns as BMW looks set to axe 6-Series

BMW has trademarked the M8 moniker as it prepares a top-end thump to its upcoming large coupe contender.

Built off the same architecture as the all-new 7-Series, the M8 will be built off the new 8-Series when both cars arrive in 2019.

Running an all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that will also power the next M5 and X5M, the M8 will run to 100km/h in considerably less than four seconds in its all-wheel drive guise, though a lighter, cheaper version will also be built as a rear-wheel drive.

That powerhouse, 600 horsepower V8 won’t be the biggest engine in the range, though, with BMW also registering the 860, 850, 840, 830 and 825 badges, indicating the 8-Series lineup will have 6.6-litre V12, 4.0-litre V8, 3.0-litre straight-six and in-line 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo power. There will also be a hybrid, named the 840e and running the same powertrain as the 740e iPerformance.

Code-named G16, the 8-Series will take over from the 6-Series, whose production is due to end at BMW's flagship Dingolfing early in 2018. The 8-Series won't directly replace the 6-, with BMW instead choosing to straddle the 6-Series' segment, with the 8-Series above it and a Z4-replacing joint venture car below it. That car, tentatively dubbed the Z5, has been developed together with the next Toyota Supra and will be built by Magna in Austria.

Though BMW is coy on the details, the 8-Series is known to share the Cluster Architecture that sits beneath the 7-Series, so you can safely assume it will blend aluminium, high-strength steel, carbon-fibre and magnesium into its core structure.

BMW plans both coupe and convertible versions of all variants of the 8-Series, with the soft-top following the coupe on to market by almost a year.

More than five metres long, the four-seat 8-Series retains BMW’s preferred frameless doors behind an elongated bonnet and in front of powerful rear haunches.