New BMW 8 Series Special Edition Coming Before It Ends Production

The BMW 8 Series has quietly chugged long for years in coupe, convertible, and gran coupe body styles without much fuss. Oh yeah, you can also get the super-tuned Alpina B8 if you desire a spicier Bavarian ride. But sadly, the 8 Series’ time is coming to an end, reportedly by the end of 2026, though the automaker has something else planned for it before it goes, according to the boss of BMW’s performance M division.

Not The Trim We Expected BMW To Make Special

Speaking to the German outlet Bimmer Today (via BMW Blog) at this year’s recent Goodwood Festival Of Speed event in the UK, M boss Frank van Meel revealed that there will be a new limited-run edition based on the M850i trim before the model is retired. He did not go into any further detail about whether to expect a coupe, convertible, or gran coupe body style, and it’s not clear if we should expect the standard performance figures, or a new tune.

Related

Gran Coupe Comparison: BMW M850i Vs. Alpina B8

It’s BMW versus Alpina for highway-chomping four-doors.

Current M850i Specs

Notably, the recent BMW Skytop and Speedtop special edition cars were based on the 8 Series, so this forthcoming special could be another super-exclusive redesign like one of those, as well. However, van Meel specifically mentioned the M850i, whereas those other limited editions were based on the more powerful M8 trim. The M850i is currently good for 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, courtesy of its twin-turbocharged V8 powering all four wheels through BMW’s xDrive system. It starts at just under $110,000 in the US, and can already accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just about 3.6 seconds.

Expectations

When BMW promises a special edition or new version of its models, you can never be too sure of what to expect. Sometimes they are region-specific and often take some combination of existing BMW Individual customization options and build a certain spec and call it a special, like the recent Singapore i7 one-off. Other times they go all-out with a new body style or some sort of redesign, like with the 3.0 CSL and Skytop and Speedtop specials. That makes it difficult to guess where they could go with the 8 Series, as it’s not the most popular or well-known model, and BMW has hardly celebrated it very much in the past.

Related

BMW M8 Reportedly Going Away. Are The Other 8 Series Models Next?

The BMW M8 coupe is being discontinued. The future looks bleak for the rest of the 8 Series line, but not for BMW performance.

It does have some motorsport pedigree with the M8 GTE out racing in recent years, and it was even memed for how large it appeared on track compared to some other racers. It’s possible BMW leans into that legacy for the final special, though naturally you’d think it’d be with an M8 and not the M850i that’s already been confirmed. That also rules out a Competition Sport (CS) model. Instead, maybe it aims to be more of a grand tourer and luxury-focused and not go for full attack. We’ll likely find out within a year.

Source: BMW Blog