The new BMW M8 Coupe will get over 600bhp

Good news from Bavaria – for BMW has finally given us some concrete info on next year’s M8, its forthcoming flagship. Admittedly, none of this info is especially surprising, but it’s nonetheless very much welcome.

First up, BMW has confirmed the new M8 will get the same 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine as the M5 (and indeed the M850i) giving “north of 600bhp”. Power will be sent through an eight-speed automatic gearbox to all four wheels, or just the rears if you engage two-wheel drive mode. So far, so M5.

The regular 8 Series is very much a GT car, but we’re promised the M8 will be sharper. BMW says the 8 Series’ suspension has been “fundamentally reworked” to deliver “outstanding agility and precision”. The front axle gets a wider track, while the rear gets bespoke toe links with stiffer rubber mounts, firmer anti-roll bars and more rigid wishbones, plus additional struts and an elastomer bearing.

Meanwhile the steering comes from the M5, but has been specifically tuned for the M8. Electronically controlled dampers will be standard.

BMW has also admitted it’s working on Cabriolet and Grand Coupe versions of the M8, which will no doubt be released soon after the Coupe goes on sale.

The regular 8 Series - read the review here - is by no means a bad car, but it didn’t impress us as much as we hoped it would. With any luck, and if the mechanically very similar M5 is anything to go by, the M8 might make amends.