The ‘M’ in the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe stands for more, more of everything including more style and more performance. BMW considers it a luxury sports car with four-doors.

“The BMW 8 Series will take over as the new flagship model of the BMW line-up and, as such, combines unsurpassed sportiness and elegance,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe offers a look ahead to the most exotic and alluring variant of the new BMW 8 Series.”

The face of the new BMW 8 Series has contoured radiator grille kidneys that broaden as they descend towards the road, emphasising the car’s low centre of gravity. As on early BMW coupes, the kidney elements are linked by an unbroken grille surround, creating a large single element. The headlights are positioned slightly higher than the kidneys and give them the impression of sitting lower, which further emphasizes the car’s low profile.

The gold-coloured kidney surround brings an added air of exclusivity to the front end. Within the headlights, the lighting technology familiar from the M8 GTE endurance racer provides a dynamic, hexagonal interpretation of BMW’s signature four-eyed front end, distilling elements of modern-day motor sport and luxurious quality. Brawny air intakes in carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) guide the air to where it is required.

A long wheelbase, long hood, flowing roofline and short tail create a very sporty coupe silhouette. Being every inch the BMW M car, the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe has a roof made from CFRP which lowers the car’s centre of gravity both visually and physically, and aerodynamically optimised exterior mirrors.

“The BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe is designed to stir things up, to polarise – it should move you emotionally,” explains Domagoj Dukec, Vice President Design BMW M and BMW i. “With this car we want to reach people who are looking for something special and who want to stand out from the crowd. Here, BMW M is unmistakably taking luxury out of its comfort zone.”

Like the BMW Concept 8 Series before it, the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe shows off BMW’s new design language, headlined by expressive surfacing that accentuates the car’s dynamism more vividly than before through its bodywork. The Salève Vert paint finish appears to change colour from green to greyish blue in different lights, is paired with the gold-coloured window graphic, hallmark M gills, gold-coloured brakes, wheel rims and M twin exhaust tailpipes to give the car an all-new look.

The new model sees the BMW Group looking ahead to the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and BMW M8 Gran Coupe, which will be presented in 2019 and will round off the BMW 8 Series family.