BMW finally reveals firm details about new 8 Series

A camouflaged BMW 8 Series on the road.

In what now seems to be becoming one of the longest lead-ups to a launch in automotive history, BMW has finally released some firm details about what we can expect from the all-new 2018 8 Series luxury performance coupe.

But in what is quickly becoming the 8 Series way of doing things, the details that have been released only concern one particular version of the car, the M850i. And even then, the details are pretty scant.

Perhaps the biggest news is that it won't be utilizing some kind of souped-up, modern six-cylinder engine, but will instead employ the services of a V-8 that will put out a reported 523 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. of torque. Somewhat intriguingly, BMW didn't bother to say how this engine would be aspirated. However, considering how high that torque figure is, it's probably safe to assume this one will be turbocharged, and probably a twin-turbo at that.

The German luxury automaker has confirmed that it's a revised version of an existing engine, but that it develops 67 horsepower and 74 lb.-ft. more torque than the current version.

That considerable amount of power is then sent to all-four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and BMW says the all-wheel drive system will be biased in favor of the rear wheels, where there will also be a limited slip differential.

Of course, there will also be plenty of electronic trickery going on underneath the M850i. An electronically adjustable suspension setup will be in evidence with active roll stabilization, and the driving experience will be tweakable using buttons to change the setting between normal, Sport and Sport+. Changing these setting will also affect the engine noise, and BMW insists the normal setting has been calibrated for comfortable cruising and the others are tuned to make everything more aggressive.

Markus Flasch, the BMW 8 Series Project Manager, said in a press release: "The thing that always impresses when test driving the new BMW 8 Series Coupe is its adaptability. Whether a driver expresses his or her wishes with regard to comfort and sportiness using the accelerator pedal or by pressing a button, the vehicle immediately adapts perfectly to each setting."

BMW says the 8 Series coupe will go on sale sometime this year, but for the moment, exactly when in 2018 that is remains a closely guarded secret like much else to do with this eagerly anticipated car.