Another major leak surfaces today. The all-new, yet to be unveiled, BMW 8 Series Convertible, was spotted in all its glory during, what seems to be, an official photoshoot in Loch Assynt, Scotland. A rendering can be found below, but the official images can be found here at AutoExpress.
The photos show us the BMW M850i convertible in the dark gray individual livery Dravit Grey Metallic. The way that the convertible 8 Series still retains the coupe’s rear wheel arches and muscular haunches looks great, even without the roof. It’s also one of the most elegant convertibles we’ve recently seen. It has all of the classic sporty ‘vert styling cues and it looks very pretty.
The 8 Series Convertible will be keeping a folding fabric soft-top roof especially since the 6 Series Convertible also had one and it looks far more elegant and luxurious than a power folding hard-top. The fabric roof saves weight which is important considering the additional weight due to extra strengthening along the flanks to make up for the reduced structural integrity brought about by the loss of the fixed roof. In all, the drop-top is likely to be around 100kg-125kg heavier than the Coupe.
The M850i model pictured indicates that BMW is following the same engine recipe as with the 8er Coupe. The entry-level Convertible is expected to be the 840d with around 320 horsepower, while the the range-topping M850i variants will be powered by a 530 hp 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, which, in the Coupe, is capable of delivering a 0-62mph sprint time of 3.7 seconds; that figure is likely to increase to around four seconds due to the additional weight of the Convertible.
We expect to see the convertible in the official “official” BMW photos by the end of this year.
