The BMW 8-Series Will Make Its Big Comeback In 2020

It was always more of a GT car than an out-and-out sports machine, but the old 8-series has always been very high on many people’s BMW want lists. After production ended in 1999 with just over 31,000 built, the name disappeared from the BMW stable, but all that is set to change.

According to Autocar, a new flagship BMW model using the 8-series name will arrive in 2020. Exactly what form it’ll take is unknown. There is understood to be two potential options, the first being a four-door car “similar in concept to the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé only bigger and nobler in appearance”, and the alternative is a proper two-door coupe with a cabriolet option. In terms of rivals, the intended targets are the likes of the Mercedes S-Class coupe and the Bentley Continental GT.

It’ll use various bits of tech from the current 7-series, which makes us hope that the new 6.6-litre V12 found in the M760Li might make an appearance. The last time we asked BMW, the official line was that the new 12-pot will only be installed in the 760Li, but if the new 8-series is to be a flagship car, a big engine like that is a shoe-in.

While the car won’t go on sale until 2020, Autocar’s report suggests that we’ll see it first in concept form in 2018. What it’ll look like is anyone’s guess, but we’d be rather pleased if it ends up looking even a little bit like BMW’s Gran Lusso concept (above) from 2013…