The BMW Group used this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este to unveil the BMW Concept 8 Series, the essence of a modern-day Bimmer coupe wrapped up in an enthralling design study. The study car will serve as a taster of a forthcoming BMW model – the new 8 Series Coupe, slated for launch in 2018 and part of the biggest model offensive in the company’s history.
The Concept 8 Series reveals much of what is to come. It is immediately recognisable as a BMW, but also displays new design ideas and form-building techniques.
The silhouette of the design concept car spreads low and powerfully over the road. The interplay of a long bonnet and flowing roofline brings dynamic allure to the car’s flanks, while the striking upward sweep of the concept’s trailing edge provides a crisp conclusion to the car’s rearward flow and adds another sporting flourish.
A large kidney grille, slim twin headlights and large air intakes form a striking, sporty front-end graphic. The classic BMW template has a fresh interpretation here, taking the company’s design language in a different direction.
Emotional surfacing also dominates at the rear of the concept coupe, creating a low, highly sculpted tail with maximum width-enhancing effect. The rear is defined by the interplay between volumes and lines, which extend around from the flanks and shape the rear section of the car.
The powerful wheel-arches hint at the car’s dynamic talents and advertise its rear-wheel drive, while the tapering of the passenger cell and the car’s wide tracks shine a particularly vivid spotlight on this area of the exterior.
The interior focuses on the essential: the task of driving. Once behind the wheel, the driver is wrapped in the tightly enclosed ambience typical of sports cars. The surfaces and lines all gravitate forwards and underscore the dynamic driving experience. The grouping of functions into control clusters, e.g. in the centre stack, the centre console and the doors, gives the interior a clear graphic structure. 
Check out another German design concept coupe, the Mercedes-Maybach 6.
