BMW M8 Coupe: More details

More images and details of the upcoming BMW M8 Coupe have been released ahead of its global rollout next year.

Preliminary power outputs and fuel consumption were revealed as part of a passenger ride event for the new BMW sports flagship at the Estoril GP circuit in Portugal, where selected media outlets also drove the new BMW M8 GTE race car.

Most interestingly, BMW says the F98 M8’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 “produces north of 440kW/600hp”, which is roughly the same output as the same engine in the new 441kW BMW M5 sedan, but not the 460kW M5 Competition that replaces it in Australia.

So it remains to be seen whether the new BMW M8 Coupe is as quick or powerful as the M5 Competition, which hits 100km/h in a claimed 3.3 seconds (0.1sec sooner than the standard M5) and 200km/h in just 10.8sec (0.3 sooner than M5).

Like the M5, with which it shares its powertrain and new CLAR platform, BMW has confirmed the M8 will incorporate an M xDrive all-wheel-drive system with rear-wheel bias and full rear-drive mode.

Preliminary fuel consumption is listed at 10.7-10.8L/100km (“based on the new WLTP test cycle [but] translated back into NEDC-equivalent values in order to ensure comparability between the vehicles), which is at least 0.1L/100km more than the M5 Competition.

Going one step further than the BMW 850i xDrive Coupe we drove last month, BMW says the M8 will feature “minimised weight, low centre of gravity, even weight distribution, optimum wheelbase and wide tracks”, plus M-specific optimisation of the body and chassis to deliver “exceptional directional stability, steering precision and cornering dynamics”.

The BMW M8 Coupe will be joined by the BMW M8 Convertible, based on the new 8 Series Convertible revealed last month, and the four-door BMW M8 Gran Coupe, which appeared as a concept at the Geneva motor show.

All three new BMW M8 models – and the 6 Series-replacing coupe, convertible and sedan models on which they’re based – will be rolled out globally in 2019.

The new M8 Coupe was previewed way back in 2013 by the BMW Gran Lusso concept, confirmed in 2016 and revealed in disguise in 2017, and now appears in slightly more revealing camouflage prior to entering production.

Expect the BMW M8 Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe to be priced higher than the circa-$300,000 M6 Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe models they replace, with the M8 Coupe aiming directly at the $370K-plus Mercedes-AMG S 63 Coupe.