cars news 10: Spied! BMW 8 Series Caught Testing at the Nurburgring

Our Spy photographers have caught the upcoming BMW 8 Series undergoing testing at the Nürburgring race track. Looking to challenge other big luxury coupes like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe and the new Lexus LC 500, the BMW 8 Series will return as a grand tourer slotting above the 6 Series coupe and convertible.

Based on the photos, the 8 Series will be fairly large and will likely be as long as its key rival, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe. From the side, the 8 Series appears low-slung with a dramatically sloping roofline that exaggerates the car’s overall length. The side windows appear to be a bit narrow as well, which visually lowers the car. Despite the swirly camouflage, you’ll find BMW’s trademark dual kidney grille up front with wider openings. Out back, the classic coupe proportions continue with a short rear deck that almost makes the car look like a fastback.

Since this particular prototype features dual exhaust tips, it’s likely that it’s only a standard 8 Series, but the black side mirrors indicate that it may be an M Sport variant or an M Performance model like the recently released M760i xDrive. It’s not yet known what will power the 8 Series, but if it’s based on the current-generation 7 Series it’ll ride on BMW’s scalable CLAR platform and most likely share powertrain choices with the flagship sedan, which include a 3.0-liter turbo-six, a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8, and the range-topping 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12.

Currently, there’s no large coupe in the BMW lineup as the 6 Series is smaller than the cars the 8 Series will likely target. Last year, we reported that BMW was likely planning to bring back the 8 Series after the automaker applied for trademarks on the names 850, 860, and M8 among others. Three months after that report, we spied a prototype for the first time.

Photo Source: CarPix