The new BMW 8 Series Coupe undergoes vehicle dynamics testing on the racetrack

The new BMW 8 Series Coupe undergoes vehicle dynamics testing on the racetrack

The new BMW 8 Series Coupe undergoes vehicle dynamics testing on the racetrack

With the presentation of the BMW Concept 8 Series, BMW already offered a close-to-series glimpse at the design of their new luxury segment sports car. The dynamic qualities of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe are now also clearly manifesting themselves. A close-to-series prototype is currently undergoing intensive testing on a high-speed proving ground in Aprilia, Italy. The tests serve in particular to optimise the vehicle’s driving dynamics on surfaces with a high friction coefficient and mark yet a further decisive stage on the way to the launch of the new BMW 8 Coupe during 2018.

The test drives are being carried out with a heavily camouflaged prototype, which nevertheless gives strong indication of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe’s typical sports car proportions. As in the case of the BMW Concept 8 Series, the dynamically stretched lines, the flat silhouette and the powerful front and rear ends give a foretaste of the fascinatingly sporty driving experience.

This impression is confirmed with each lap completed on the proving ground in Italy. With its around 4 kilometres long oval circuit, including steep bends, the area situated in the proximity of Rome offers above all the perfect conditions for high-speed and high friction coefficient tests. Moreover, the acceleration, braking and steering behaviour of the new sports car are analysed on circuits, slalom courses and different road surfaces. The highly demanding test programme facilitates the targeted harmonisation of all drive and suspension systems. The new BMW 8 Series Coupe has shown that it offers maximum agility and precision in highly dynamics situations. Likewise, the car is also able to meet the highest demands in terms of supremacy and comfort.

“The test drives under the most severe conditions show that we are right on target with our concept for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe. The vehicle dynamics values already achieved are absolutely impressive. Our customers and fans can look forward to a genuine sports car,” says Klaus Fröhlich, member of the board of the BMW AG, Development and Research, who oversees the test programme in Italy.

The high vehicle dynamics potential results from an extraordinary close connection between motorsports and series production. The new BMW 8 Series Coupe is being developed parallel to and in close coordination with the BMW M8 and the BMW M8 GTE racing car. Whilst the prototype of the production model is undergoing endurance tests, the teams, which are supported by BMW Motorsport, are currently preparing in Daytona (USA) for the initial racetrack use of the BMW M8 GTE. On 27/28 January, the BMW M8 GTE will make its racing debut at the Daytona 24-hour race. In June 2018, it will then participate in the 24-hour race at Le Mans. The knowledge gained there and at numerous other racing events in the FIA WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in North America will directly benefit series development of the BMW 8 Series Coupe.

Likewise, the know-how gained during training and on the racetrack will advance development of the new BMW M8. In June 2017, a prototype of this new model from the BMW M GmbH was already presented during the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring. The Nordschleife of the legendary racing circuit is also the main proving ground for testing and further enhancing the new BMW M8.

The BMW Group has defined its strong presence in the luxury segment as one of the major pillars of its NUMBER ONE > NEXT strategy. With the consistent extension of its model portfolio through the addition of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe and the new BMW M8, the BMW Group creates the ideal prerequisites for winning over the most demanding target groups and convincing them with a unique combination of supreme dynamics and modern luxury.

courtesy: www.press.bmwgroup.com

Beyond driving pleasure: innovative luxury, BMW-style

Beyond driving pleasure: innovative luxury, BMW-style

Beyond driving pleasure: innovative luxury, BMW-style

As part of its forthcoming model offensive, BMW has developed a new presence for its luxury cars that sees the profile and positioning of the most exclusive members of its range refined into a distinct product category. The upcoming BMW 8 Series and BMW X7 as well as the BMW i8 and the upcoming BMW i8 Roadster will join the BMW 7 Series in the brand’s significantly expanded luxury segment line-up. These cars appeal strongly to the heart, so they are particularly well placed to enrich the characteristic lifestyle of customers in this segment with authentic, emotionally engaging experiences. The identity and attitude shared by BMW’s elite models are echoed in a newly designed logo which combines a black-and-white version of the manufacturer’s roundel first used 100 years ago with the company name “Bayerische Motoren Werke” written out in full. The new presence for the brand’s luxury-segment models will be unveiled for the first time at the IAA Cars 2017 show in Frankfurt on 14 – 24 September 2017.

With its classical, understated aesthetic and the company’s original name spelt out, the logo highlights BMW’s inimitable history. The daring to explore standalone solutions and concepts, and the ability to take on challenges and emerge from them stronger, are deeply-rooted elements of BMW heritage. This approach – encompassing everything from the first altitude-world-record-breaking aero engine to the launch of the BMW i brand – has proven to be a recipe for success, as well as showcasing the company’s passion, confidence and gift for bringing the future into the present day. And it is also apparent in the lifestyle of a target group well accustomed to trying new things, taking the lead and choosing a free and independent path in life.

“For these people, life is all about making the best possible use of the time available to them,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Senior Vice President Brand BMW. “Their motto is ‘to own the moment’ – i.e. to max out every snap-shot of time with meaningful and beautiful things.”

 

Free-thinking, pioneering spirit creates progressive luxury.

Luxury in a car represents the fruit of peerless expertise in various fields of development. Authentic, compelling and, above all, modern luxury draws on a well of tradition and pioneering spirit, and is rooted in years of experience, deepening knowledge and a talent for innovation. The flagship models in the BMW portfolio embody a new understanding of luxury – one which brings together an emotionality defined by inspirational aesthetics and the joy of driving with the experience of freedom and self-determined individuality.

The ongoing development of luxury as a concept is closely linked with the numbers 7 and 8 in the BMW model scheme. The BMW 7 Series luxury saloon has served as a paragon of exclusive driving pleasure, as per the brand’s unmistakeable style, for 40 years now. Elsewhere in the range, the avant-garde, dynamic and innovative use of form, not to mention the force of technological progress, continue to shape the fascination of the BMW 8 Series, whose lineage dates back to 1989. The new 8 Series distils elegance, dynamism and luxury into the time-honoured essence of a BMW coupe. The plug-in hybrid BMW i8, meanwhile, has penned the first chapter in the future of the sports car. All in all, innovations based on ground-breaking achievements, such as the use of carbon fibre in series-produced cars, remote-controlled parking and BMW laser light, mark out the progressive character of the current family of luxury BMWs.

Inspiring experiences, unique moments in time.

BMW is focusing its attentions on the continued development of relationships with customers, on experience and emotion, and on bespoke offerings. The brand’s goal is to offer customers a special mobility experience every day, courtesy of unique and improved services. Upcoming service appointments are carried out as part of a pick-up and return service tailored precisely to the customer’s individual needs. And the specially-conceived Add-on Mobility service for luxury car customers offers unbeatable flexibility and freedom. For example, if a BMW 7 Series driver requires additional transportation capacity, they can jump straight into a BMW X7. While for the pleasure of a sporting weekend drive a BMW 8 Series will be at their disposal. Indeed, emotional added value is on hand at any time, not only through the product substance of the driver’s own car, but via services designed to open up rich experiences.

The line-up of BMW models and services for the globally expanding luxury segment is complemented by a world of experiences taking their cues from the particular requirements of a modern, international target group and extending far beyond the pleasure of driving a car. The BMW i Pure Impulse Experience programme for BMW i8 owners has paved the way for customers around the world to experience some remarkable cultural, lifestyle and travel events – from exclusive sightseeing tours and gala dinners in Michelin-starred restaurants to visits to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the Art Basel fair in Hong Kong and the White Turf horse races in St. Moritz.

The company’s commitment to laying on a very special experience of mobility – and the desire, so typical of BMW, to compose unique moments of inspiration – sees the brand embarking on the largest luxury-segment model offensive in its history. “We’re building up a luxury ecosystem of unique services and experiences which embraces the full range of luxury models and creates some extraordinary and unforgettable times,” explains Wortmann.

BMW’s extensive track record of appealing to the emotions reflects its love of special moments – and its boldness in creating those experiences for customers and fans. Take the BMW Art Car Collection, a series of “artworks on wheels” without compare worldwide. Since 1975 renowned artists from around the globe have turned series-produced models and racing cars from the brand into widely admired museum exhibits. Among the BMW Art Car Collection’s standout expressions of authenticity is that many of these one-off works of art have celebrated their premieres not at an exhibition or such like, but on the race track.

These memorable moments in time and exclusive experience locations are also the most fitting places for BMW to make contact with potential customers – and therefore offer the ideal stage on which to present the new product category. “BMW needs to be present in those places where its target luxury-segment customers spend their time,” adds Wortmann. “Here, we aren’t just a maker of cars, but a partner who understands luxury living and is a protagonist in that world.”

courtesy: www.press.bmwgroup.com

The BMW M8 is the good to beat all of the lively BMW 8 Series line-up

The BMW M8 - sporty BMW 8

Nearby the progressing advancement of the standard 8 Series, the designers at BMW M are likewise working level out on the M demonstrate. A completely covered, early model without bounds BMW M8 will be revealed in a driving introduction as a major aspect of the bolster program for the Nürburgring 24-hour race.

Traditional M highlights like bigger air admissions, altered brakes and a games fumes with four tailpipes allude to the essentially helped influence and dynamic capability of the auto and whet the craving for a driving background of extreme passionate lavishness.

“The origination and advancement of the standard BMW 8 Series and the M show keep running in parallel,” clarifies Frank van Meel, President BMW M Division. “The future BMW M8 will expand on the qualities of the 8 Series and enlarge its DNA with included track capacity and liberal additional parts of dynamic sharpness, exactness and readiness. Everything streams into a driving background that bears the natural BMW M trademarks and fulfills our clients’ most demanding prerequisites.”

Advancement is likewise in progress of a race-spec auto – the BMW M8 GTE – to initiate the arrival of BMW Motorsport to Le Mans: “The BMW M8 GTE improvement program for our Le Mans rebound is going all out,” says BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “Building up another dashing auto is continually energizing, and on account of the BMW M8 GTE the expectation is that considerably more prominent still. We can’t uncover any photos yet, yet I can guarantee you that the BMW M8 GTE will look astounding. We are arranging an underlying take off for the main portion of this current year and are taking a gander at giving the auto its race make a big appearance in the Daytona 24 Hours in late January 2018.”

courtesy: www.press.bmwgroup.com