BMW 8-Series G15

The old 8-Series was BMW's flagship grand tourer when it was launched in the early '90s and based on the old E32 7-Series but as the 20th century came to an end, the 8-Series was laid to rest until almost two decades later, the 8-Series name was resurrected from the ground up and if you ask that the new 8-Series will follow the same footsteps as the original, well, sorry to disappoint because the new 8-Series is basically a replacement of the 6-Series and it's now based on today's 5-Series rather than 7-Series. Bummer.

2019 BMW 8-Series

2019 BMW 8-Series

There are many reasons why BMW's new 8-Series is not the 8-Series the 90's kids familiarized with but we'll talk about it later because let's focus more on some of the aspects of the new 8-Series. From concept to reality, the detailing of the new 8-Series is smart, strong, and sexy indeed. It's like having an expression of a salaryman who happens to be a MMA fighter in disguise and if you got beaten by him, you're gonna wait for another 20,000 years to face him again. Fierce.

2019 BMW 8-Series interior

2019 BMW 8-Series interior

Street-fighting salaryman looks aside, the new interior is definitely an office desk on wheels because while you are stuck in traffic in the middle of a very important meeting, the new 8-Series features Microsoft Office 365 with Skype for Business so you can check important appointments, memos, conferencing, it really is a fantastic feature for businessmen filling on important stuff while doing leisurely stuff like soccer or surfing. Who says an office should have four walls? Who says you can't sit on both boards? Let's talk it over but Super Dry references aside, the 8-Series' handcrafted interior really puts you in a place between Modena to 5th Avenue, and for a grand tourer of this caliber, it's impressive to toy around with it.

2019 BMW 8-Series

Now we get to answer why BMW's new 8-Series is not the 8-Series the 90's kids familiarized with because in the range-topping M850i xDrive variant, it's powered by, no, not the magnificent 12-cylinder from the old 8er, it's an updated version of the 4.4L V8 Twin Turbo engine. It produces 530PS of power and 750Nm of torque and when mated to an 8-speed automatic and xDrive all-wheel drive, it goes 0-100kph in 3.7 seconds and is electronically limited to 250kph. There's your answer, ladies and gentlemen, well only just because we can expect a more powerful M variant next year and it's powered by the same V8 engine as the M5 and that's also a bummer for a grand tourer of this size. Of course, there's a six-cylinder in-line diesel engine in the BMW 840d xDrive Coupe but it's best not to talk about it now because of what's going on in the motoring world right now.

On the dynamics side, the xDrive intelligent all-wheel-drive with electronically controlled differential lock can adapt to various road conditions it can recognize any road conditions with precision. Yes, this drivetrain can get a lot more enjoyable thanks to its rear differential lock, but when it gets hard on the handling, better be prepared for what lies ahead within the xDrive's limits because it's going to be a cruncher judging from its ideal weight distribution, low center of gravity, Adaptive M suspension, Integral Active Steering, every nooks and crannies honed from their motorsports expertise. When driven in a very comfortable setting, its grand tourer charm really works well during a weekend drive at Tagaytay but engaging in SPORT+ when taken on track days, it really bites you harder and harder when you take it to the bends and before you know it, the struggle is real. Who knew?

When the weekend trip's over and if you're heading home after a day out, the 8-Series' wide array of safety tech really keeps this grand tourer prepared during the journey home. With the Driving Assistant Professional, the 8-Series takes full advantage of all the driving aids that make driving back home more convincing, and in terms of parking, what else?

The all-new 8-Series starts at a very expensive 100,000 to 125,700 Euros and that's too much to bear for the reborn grand tourer that uses the 5-Series' underpinnings instead of the 7's. So, the new 8-Series may not be the 8-Series the 90's kids familiarized with as well as its unquestionable performance that takes moments to answer all of its questions but for a grand tourer, the charms of being a weekend cruiser is worth a shot and whether you love it or loathe it, the all-new 8-Series from BMW is starting to pick up the pace by all means necessary and expect more to come for the revived grand tourer from BMW.

Photo: BMW AG