I remember the first time I saw an 8-Series in the 1990s. I was riding a bicycle as a youngster on the main drag and after hopping off onto a side street on my way to a friends, there it was. Long, wide and peculiar looking it sat in someone's driveway labeled "840Ci."
Back then I thought I knew my cars pretty well and it looked nothing like the BMWs I was used to seeing.
Soon thereafter I became well aware of the BMW two-door coupe flagship. But it didn't matter as BMW stopped sending them our way after the 1997 model year. No more 840s or 850s once the illustrious CSi made a quick "hit and run."
For several years now there's been conversation about a big-body coupe flagship to make a return. We haven't seen much yet aside from the concept Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe Concept but the rumormill is strong with this one.
That said, perhaps BMW is readying us for another crack at the 8 — the i8 doesn't count though — as it did just release this clip.
The BMW 8 Series was an entirely new class with V8 or V12 engines, built from 1989 to 1999. It was the most expensive BMW model of that time.
The BMW 8 Series included several inventions such as twelve cylinder engine or steering linked rear suspension. It had a very aerodynamic shape and was the first car with a drag coefficient of less than 0.3.