New BMW 8 Series ARRIVES - and it kicks off with the 840d and M850i

New BMW 8 Series ARRIVES

The new BMW 8 Series Coupe officially arrives, initially as an 840d and a M850i xDrive, to top BMW’s range and take on Mercedes and Porsche.

The new 2019 BMW 8 Series has finally been revealed ahead of arriving in the UK in later this year, and it doesn’t stray too far from the 8 Series Concept we saw last year as BMW deliver a range-topping Coupe they expect to tackle both big Mercedes Coupes and Porsche.

BMW say the new 8 Series sports a new design language, which may be true but it’s still very familiar high-end BMW sporty, just a bit sharper, a bit cleaner and a bit more contemporary.

The slim headlights, which can be laser if you wish, sit each side of a huge kidney grille with aero aids, the underside is is fully sealed to make it slippery, there’s active steering and roll stabilisation from electric motors on the axles, aluminium and CFRP, hazard monitors and an interior with 12.3″ and 10.25″ displays.

Although BMW are going to deliver a range-topping M8, we’ll have to wait a year before that becomes available, but there is a choice of diesel or petrol to start withy, with the 840d and M850i – both with xDrive four-wheel drive and eight speed steptronic as standard.

The 840d which, despite current diesel antipathy, will probably be the bigger seller in Europe, comes with a 3.0 litre straight-six diesel with 316bhp and 502lb/ft of torque, a 0-62mph of 4.9 seconds and official economy of 46.3mpg.

But the car which is the proper spiritual successor to the last BMW 8 Series is the M850i, which gets BMW’s 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 good for 523bhp and 553lb/ft of torque, 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and official economy (which you’ll never see) of 28.3mpg.

The new BMW 8 Series will go on sale later this month, with the 840d costing from £76,270 and the M850i from £100,045.