BMW unwraps 8 Series convertible

Barely a couple of weeks after we drove the M850i coupe, BMW has officially shown the roofless version of their new flagship model range.

Sharing its footprint with the two-door coupe, the soft top will be capable of carrying two people in comfort and another two in discomfort, while launching with the same powertrains as the coupe.

The M850i xDrive version will share the same biturbo 4.4-litre V8 petrol motor as the flagship coupe, with 390kW of power and 750Nm of torque propelling the 2015kg convertible to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

That means it will be 125kg heavier than the hard top, suffering only a 0.2-second loss of straight-line sprinting ability.

There's also an 840d xDrive, with a turbocharged, 3.0-litre straight six diesel motor sitting under the bonnet and hustling to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds.

Like the M850i, the 840d is speed limited to 250km/h, even though its 235kW, 680Nm diesel motor is capable of far more.

It's expected to go head-to-head with Mercedes-Benz' brilliant S-Class Cabriolet and even parts of the Bentley Continental GT business in the big convertible market.

The shape of the multi-layer cloth roof delivers more headroom than the coupe's roofline-compromised rear seat space, though they lose some shoulder room and the seats themselves are more upright.

BMW also claims the convertible's aerodynamics are actually a bit better than the coupe's, making it slipperier through the air.

The roof can be raised or lowered in 15 seconds at up to 50km/h, and even with a flush-glass rear window, it tucks back inside a space that leaves the car with 350 litres of luggage space. There's also a 50:50 split-fold in the rear seats to accommodate longer luggage or sporting equipment.

The extra weight is mostly due to underfloor reinforcements to try to maintain the rigidity at close to the coupe's level.

Due on sale in Europe next March, the convertible will flesh out a burgeoning 8 Series range that is expected to include both an M8 coupe and a four-door coupe at some point in the second half of 2019.

There's also an M8 version of the convertible in the works, too, launching some time after the M8 coupe.

The bodywork largely looks the same as it does on the coupe, with a very aggressive kidney grille, fat wheel arches and big 20-inch wheels as standard.

Its dimensions are incredibly similar to the coupe's, with an overall length of 4843mm, a width of 1902mm and a height of 1339, all riding on the same 2822mm wheelbase.

The rear seats have had all the work, but the front remains identical to the coupe, the sole exception being the button to raise and lower the roof.

That means a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster paired to a 10.25-inch infotainment touch screen, with most of the interior's functions run by touching and swiping the smaller of the two screens.

The convertible comes with a wind blocker as part of its standard specification, locking into sockets around the shoulder areas of the back seats. It can be folded in half for easy storage when it's not being used.

There are optional three-speed neck warmers as well, integrated into both front seats, while there's a pop-up pyrotechnic rollover protection system behind the rear seats.
BMW is in for an incredibly busy 2019 overhauling its lineup, with the 8 Series convertible joining an all-new 3-Series, the X7 SUV, the Z4 roadster and the all-electric i4 sedan.