--- title: "Why the New BMW 8-Series Makes Sense" description: "Tremendous profit potential means BMW’s “best failed experiment” might get a second chance." date: "2016-03-02" modified: "2016-03-02" authors: - name: "Jonathon Ramsey" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jonathon-ramsey" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2396/why-the-new-bmw-8-series-makes-sense" categories: - "BMW 8 Series" - "BMW Reviews" - "Car Reviews" tags: - "8 series" - "BMW" - "Coupe" - "luxury" - "Mercedes-Benz" --- # Why the New BMW 8-Series Makes Sense ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* Although BMW only produced the strapping, lusty wedge known as the E31 8-Series from 1989 to 1999, the Munich automaker’s “[best failed experiment]()” made its mark among aficionados. It also [helped Will Smith get jiggy with it](), and laid the V12 architecture of what would evolve into the [engine for the McLaren F1 supercar](). We thought we were close to an 8-Series redux when BMW showed the exquisite [Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe]() in 2013, only to have company bosses squash the idea soon after. But, according to recent reports, there's been movement behind the scenes. The 8-Series flagship nameplate [will “tentatively” be resurrected]() by 2020. BMW CEO Harald Krueger is said to be leading this charge, perhaps to take a shot at the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe, and reap a share of the enormous profit margin of such vehicles. BMW’s money men estimate that Mercedes clears up to €30,000 on each S-Class it sells. And, if that’s true, the sales disparity between the S and 7-Series amounts to an incredible €1 billion in profit for Mercedes. If this were about numbers, though, a broadside attack on the S-Class Coupe wouldn’t likely succeed. ![030216-bmw-8-series-c-class-art.jpg]() “If you look at the S-Class in comparison to its competitors, it's leading the market and that's not going to change anytime soon as far as we can see," Tim Urquhart, a Principal Analyst at Global Insights, tells *The Drive.* "But I think the market for the large coupe will be quite a lot closer.” Global Insight forecasts the first-generation S-Class Coupe to peak at 9,092 sales in 2017, then decline through to the arrival of the second generation in 2022. They haven’t worked up numbers for a potential 8-Series yet, but the Audi A9, which they expect to appear in 2019, is forecasted to sell a peak of 10,668 units in 2020. The second-gen S-Class Coupe would retake the top spot in 2022 with 10,258 units—about 10 percent of S-Class sedan sales. “The race will be pretty close between these really high-end coupes based on the big sedans,” says Urquhart, “but as it stands the S-Class will continue to dominate its immediate peers.” That’s probably fine for BMW, even at those volumes when clearing €30,000 per vehicle. ![030216-bmw-8-series-art.jpg]() “I don't know if it's about BMW trying to take on the S-Class specifically as much as it is recognizing that there's so much opportunity at the high end, especially from a profitability-per-unit standpoint,” adds Eric Lyman, VP of Industry Insights at TrueCar. BMW’s historic reputation in the entry-level segment could give it leeway in establishing a clear identity at the top. Says Lyman: “I view the S-Class as the pinnacle of what Mercedes stands for as a brand, whereas with BMW, the pinnacle of what their brand represents is the 3-Series, more performance-oriented rather than luxury. Coupe variants tend to and attract a buyer who's more interested in performance, so that plays right into BMW's opportunity.” Two design studies are vying for votes, one being a “bigger and nobler” 6-Series Gran Coupe, the other a proper two-door. If one of them does get the green light, we could see a concept on the auto show circuit in 2018. The production model will be built in BMW’s plant in Dingolfing, the same facility where the original was produced. ### Author social links