BMW 8 Series Coupe And Cabrio To Be Axed, Electric Gran Coupe Coming: Report
Bavaria could drop the two-door models and combustion engines for the next 8er.
The 8 Series hasn't quite lived up to the heritage left by the legendary E31 and you can immediately see that by the small investment BMW made with the product's Life Cycle Impulse earlier this year. It doesn't make sense to spend big money on a product that doesn't generate sufficient sales volume to warrant the investment. Another relevant and more recent example is the Z4 as the roadster received the mildest of facelifts.
While the soft-top convertible is rumored to bow out in 2025, the 8 Series could live to see a third generation. Our friends at BMWBLOG have it on good authority the model line will survive, but in a simplified form. The coupe and cabrio are believed to be heading toward retirement, with only the Gran Coupe surviving. Interestingly, the most practical body style of the trio is reportedly going to lose its gasoline and diesel engines.
2023 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe
Codenamed G77, the next 8 Series Gran Coupe could come exclusively in electric form. BMW plans to kick off production sometime in 2026 and stick to the rear-wheel-drive-based CLAR platform used by the current ICE-powered model. Despite carrying the figure “8” in its name, the swoopy sedan will serve the role of bridging the gap between next year’s i5 and the already-revealed i7.
Although BMW is working on a dedicated electric platform dubbed "Neue Klasse," sources close to the Munich automaker believe it might be too early to build the 8 Series on the NE architecture. As a refresher, the first models on the all-new hardware are slated to arrive from 2025 with a sedan and an SUV in the 3 Series segment.
There will be an overlap of many years for the Neue Klasse and CLAR platform before BMW will eventually drop the latter. Selling an 8 Series only with electric power from 2026 would represent a bold move considering there a lot of people aren't ready to make the switch to EVs yet. High-ranked officials from the company have said repeatedly the ICE's demise shouldn't be rushed since the infrastructure is not ready for the electric onslaught.
Source: BMWBLOG
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