Leaked Patent Images Reveal BMW 8 Series Convertible And Gran Coupe

BMW has confirmed the 8 Series Convertible and Gran Coupe will go on sale next year.

One of our most eagerly anticipated new models of the year was the reborn BMW 8 Series, and it didn’t disappoint. BMW’s new grand tourer looks gorgeous from every angle. So far, only the Coupe variant has broken cover, but we know the BMW 8 Series will eventually be sold in several different body styles including a Convertible and Gran Coupe.

BMW hasn’t officially revealed them yet but leaked patent images of both body styles have leaked online via Dutch site Auto Visie. A few patent images of both models emerged a few months ago, but these new images are much better quality and show the designs from every angle.

Unsurprisingly, the 8 Series looks stunning as a convertible, retaining the Coupe’s athletic shape. As we saw in recent spy photos, the 8 Series Convertible will have a soft top instead of a folding hard top. Not only does this make the car more luxurious, it also saves weight. Being a convertible, it will still be heavier than its coupe counterpart and is expected to weigh in at least 4,400 lbs.

As for the four-door Gran Coupe, the patent images give us a clearer look at the design than previous spy shots, as we can now see the car’s side air vents and rear ducktail spoiler. The 8 Series Gran Coupe was previewed earlier this year with the M8 Gran Coupe concept and it looks like the production model’s design will be faithful to the concept, though the front and rear bumpers look less aggressive.

With room for four, the luxurious 8 Series Gran Coupe should be a formidable rival to the Porsche Panamera. Under the hood, expect both cars to use the same twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 as the Coupe, which produces 523 hp. BMW has confirmed the 8 Series Convertible and Gran Coupe will go on sale next year. More potent M8 versions are also coming, which could borrow the new M5’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 producing over 600 hp.

BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe Patent Images Have Found Their Way Online

It was only a matter of time.

Introducing the internet, the purveyor of nearly anything that can be sold. Sometimes the internet, or rather an internet user, manages to get a hold of material a company doesn’t want released to the public just yet, and proceeds to post it online for the world to see. Such is the case of a Bimmerpost forum member who has uploaded a patent image of the upcoming BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, although it is a bit grainy. Fortunately, the reveal late last week of the new 8 Series Coupe makes it easy to imagine what the four-door coupe variant will look like.

We were also given a glimpse of it in concept form last March at Geneva with the reveal of the Mack Daddy of them all, the M8 Gran Coupe. We don’t expect the production version to arrive until sometime late next year, but our spy photographers are likely to find test mules out and about any time now. Also included in this leak is a patent image of the also upcoming 8 Series convertible. When the 8 Series Gran Coupe does debut, presumably as a 2020 model, it’ll likely be initially offered in two trims only, the M850i xDrive and the 840d, just like the coupe. The latter will not be sold in the US. The M8 will definitely happen but it may not be ready until the 2021 model year.

But the 850i xDrive will be a serious performance machine in its own right. Based on the specs of the coupe, it’ll develop around 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, and will make the sprint to 60 mph in around 3.6 seconds. As expected, pricing won’t be cheap. In Europe, the M850i xDrive Coupe begins at 125,700 euros, so figure at least another 5,000 euros on top of that for the Gran Coupe. The M8 Gran Coupe, however, could have a sticker price of at least 150,000 euros.

New BMW 3 Series Wagon Leaks In Patent Photos

Let’s hope it doesn’t remain forbidden fruit in America.

Last week, the brand-new 2019 BMW 3 Series made its triumphant debut at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Currently, it’s only available as a sedan, but if its predecessor is anything to go by BMW will introduce alternative body styles. While a next-generation 3 Series Gran Turismo has already been ruled out, leaked patent images posted by BMWBlog seemingly reveal the design of the new G21 3 Series Touring, which is sold as the 3 Series Wagon in the US. While the sports wagon is slated to arrive next spring, it isn’t yet clear if it will be sold in the US.

Compared to the sedan, the 3 Series Wagon features a stretched roofline and an elongated Hofmeister kink, but the styling has otherwise been carried over as you would expect, including the new double-kidney grille that seamlessly merges with the full-LED headlights. Overall, the sedan’s design language applies well to the wagon body style as the new BMW 3 Series Wagon looks slick and sporty, despite being larger and wider than its predecessor. The model shown in the patent images also appears to be equipped with the Sport Line package, which is also available for the sedan.

Like the sedan, the 3 Series Wagon will ride on flexible CLAR architecture for vehicles with rear-wheel drive. The sedan’s interior is also a massive step up in quality and tech with more premium materials and the new BMW Live Cockpit consisting of 8.8-inch digital touchscreen and 5.7-inch digital instrument display, so we’re expecting to see the same improvements in the new wagon.

In terms of powertrains, the new 3 Series Wagon is expected to be offered with the same range of turbocharged engines as its sedan sibling, including a 2.0-liter inline-four with 255 hp and 295 lb-ft for the 330i model and a range of diesel engines in Europe. A range-topping M340i model will also arrive with a new version of the straight-six delivering 382 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. We’re hoping the new BMW 3 Series Wagon doesn’t remain forbidden fruit in the US, but America's unrelenting appetite for SUVs and crossovers might make it difficult for BMW to make a business case.

Someone Leaked These BMW X2 Patent Drawings

How different is it from the concept? Not much.

We’ve known for some time that the BMW X2 was on its way, and these leaked patent images, courtesy of The Motor Report, clearly show us what the production version will look like. The X2 Concept, revealed in Paris last September, looked about 90 percent production ready, and even then we knew BMW had given it the green light. Like the concept, these patent images show the production X2 will retain that low-profile roof and more aggressive front end, thus giving it more of a ‘Sport’ over ‘Utility’ look.

Compared to the concept, the patent images reveal larger headlights and taillights, door handles and, of course, exterior side mirrors. Those large front air intakes have also been slightly toned down, as has the rear end styling. Perhaps it’s best to think of the upcoming X2 as a sportier, coupe-like alternative to the X1, its platform mate. Mechanically speaking, the X1 and X2 are very similar, sharing gasoline and diesel engines and an eight-speed automatic transmission. These renderings, however, show the X2 in its base trim and BMW will also launch an M Sport version with enhanced styling. An X2 M also hasn’t been entirely ruled out. In any case, we’ll see the first-ever BMW X2 this September at its Frankfurt Motor Show debut.