I like it, not a lot, but I like it. It's basic shape is beautiful but the design itself has me wondering if BMW designers see Lexus as their target? Not quite as over the top as Lexus coupes, but on the same track. LincStang can do better!
BMW's new Z4 convertible is being developed alongside new Toyota Supra, and is shaping up nicely ahead of reveal later this year
BMW’s next Z4 Roadster has been spied again, this time winter testing and wearing a slightly more revealing disguise compared to earlier test mules spotted lapping the Nurburgring...
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Mash-up of different cars or not, its an attractive coupe.
I like how the new 8-series profile is more GT-sports car-like than the 6-series which literally just looked like a coupe version of a sedan (which it was).
I guess BMW wants to aim for something more Aston Martin-like.
A fully-fledged M version of the re-born 8-Series is coming with BMW previewing the production M8 through a camouflaged prototype.
Revealed shortly after the presentation of the 8-Series concept model in Milan, Italy, earlier this week, the M8 will make its official debut in a driving presentation as part of the support program for the Nürburgring 24-hour race...
...BMW won’t divulge details about the powertrain yet, but it’s believed that the M8 will adopt the new M5’s running gear, including a 600 horsepower or so V8 together with the specially developed variable version of the firm’s xDrive all-wheel drive system with a rear-wheel drive only mode. A softer and more luxurious M860i xDrive model with the M760Li xDrive’s 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 putting out 600PS (592hp) is also rumored to join the range...
...BMW recently debuted a fully-functioning, yet heavily camouflaged, BMW M8 as part of the support program for the Nürburgring 24-hour race. The M8 on display is a pre-production prototype...
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I'd hate to be a rear-seat passenger in the 8. The roof's profile could have been designed to provide rear-seat headroom without sacrificing aesthetics. At least the new 7 platform that underpins the 8 is a product of relentless R&D.
And that grille ... It's shape and buckteeth profile are too much of a departure from BMW tradition. I'm all for design innovation but not in the direction of ugly. BMW designers need to stop being influenced by Audi/Lexus/Infiniti excess.
Lincoln also ignored it's own abundant design legacy by producing a grille design that was obviously influenced by Volvo and Jaguar. After failing to make a handsome use of the Zepher legacy, it seems as if Lincoln over-reacted and under-reached with their new face.
Only Mercedes Benz, among luxury carmakers, is creatively exploiting its heritage when designing the face of its brand. Easing in the SL grille while phasing out the upright RR style grille was a stroke of evolutionary genius.
Back to the 8 Concept, Lincoln is a long way from producing a similar halo car. With Ford shareholders, running from the Wall Street hounds at their heels, that day may never come. Lincoln is at a crossroads. At least Fields was a car guy and seemed committed to R&D. Now Ford has a cabinetmaker at the helm.
Even the Chinese market will soon realize that the Lincoln sedans' basic platform is outdated by its competitors. Eventually, among those competitors will be Chinese brands and you KNOW that they're doing their R&D. Look at the Korean brands. Even they're ahead of Ford/Lincoln.
Better yet, eliminate the back seat altogether. If you're going to have a back seat, I don't know why a suggestion for a little more headroom should offend.
...BMW will introduce the production 8-Series in 2018. Also in the pipeline are an 8-Series Convertible and high-performance M8. An 8-Series Gran Coupe is also possible given the strong demand for sedans in the key markets of the United States and China.
To make way for the 8-Series models, BMW is phasing out most of its 6-Series. The nameplate will continue, albeit on a successor to the stodgy 5-Series Gran Turismo as opposed to coupes and convertibles.
...If not exactly in turmoil, then BMW is certainly struggling to deal with some unexpected bumps in the road...
...the 7 Series. Although BMW’s flagship sedan is a competent piece of kit, it’s not exactly a sellout, continuing the decades-long struggle to gain traction against the dominant force in the segment, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. On its own this does not bode well for the forthcoming 8 Series, which is supposed to chase the two-door S-class models...
...There’s now a progressive faction within BMW that believes neither the 7 Series nor the 8 Series, which effectively replaces the slow-selling 6 Series, have a future. They insist the top end of BMW’s product portfolio needs to be reinvented and are agitating for the next-gen 7 Series, due in 2022, to be a much more courageous flagship based on a bespoke electric vehicle architecture that will eventually take over from the conservative combustion engine-based concept.
However the conservatives are reluctant to take risks. They have a lot to deal with, from the multi-billion dollar Project i nightmare, to the slow funk at Mini, to dealing with the existential threat to the brand from autonomous vehicles.
What’s driving the dilemma among the denizens of the 22nd floor at BMW is the knowledge the company must satisfy loyal owners, who are now progress-shy and getting older, but that to prosper in the future it must attract new zeitgeist-minded customers. And the next 7 Series is shaping up to be ground zero for that tricky cultural clash.
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