BMW has treated the 8 series to a mid-life refresh with a new front bumper and standard ‘iconic glow’ light-up kidney grilles added to the equipment list
The updated 2022 BMW 8 Series range will be released in Australia in the middle of 2022, with three body styles set to return to our shores: two-door coupe, two-door convertible, and four-door Gran Coupe sedan.
A uniform $5000 price increase will be applied to the lightly-facelifted 2022 8 Series, with updated Australian pricing ranging from the $184,900 (before on-road costs) 840i Gran Coupe to the range-topping M850i xDrive convertible ($294,900).
The G15 8 Series launched in 2019, and after three-years on sale has been given a light refresh and equipment increase.
Glowing kidney grilles are now standard on the 8 Series
For 2022, the 8 Series scores a new front bumper, ‘iconic glow‘ light-up kidney grilles and crystal-look gear selector across the range as well as a larger 12.3-inch central touchscreen in place of the old 10.25-inch unit.
Additionally, there are five new paint colours for 2022: Skyscraper grey, San Remo green, Frozen Pure Gray, Frozen Tanzanite and M Portimao blue bringing and new 20-inch alloy wheel choices.
Existing 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder and 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine options carry across to the revised 8 Series.
Sitting above the two regular 8 Series models is the 460kW/750Nm twin-turbo V8 M8 which sees the same changes for 2022.
The 8 Series is available with four doors
Frugal six-cylinder diesel powertrains are available overseas but are not present in the Australian version of the 8 Series.
What does each 8 Series variant get?
The 8 Series range kicks off with the 840i from $184,900 for the Gran Coupe, in two-door coupe the price climbs to $187,900 and the convertible starts at $202,900 before on-road costs and options.
Every 840i uses the familiar 250kW/500Nm ‘B58’ 3.0-litre turbo petrol straight six hooked up to the rear wheels via a ZF eight-speed automatic.
All 840i models in Australia will feature the M Sport package with more aggressive bumpers, 20-inch alloy wheels and laser headlights outside.
Inside the updated 8 Series gets a larger central touchscreen
Inside, there is now a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen, while navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display BMW’s upper-spec ‘Merino’ leather-upholstered heated seats.
Safety gear includes the ‘Driving Assistant Professional’ package as standard that has adaptive cruise with stop and go, lane-trace assist and traffic light recognition. Forward AEB, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-camera.
BMW’s drive recorder, which videos up to 40 seconds of driving footage from the on-board cameras, is also now standard.
The flagship M performance M850i xDrive score gets a 390kW/750Nm turbo petrol V8, all-wheel drive and a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7 seconds for the $285,900 coupe.
To tell the more expensive M850i apart, BMW adorns the outside with M badges, and the V8-powered car gets a different steering wheel.
BMW 8 Series 2022: prices in Australia
All prices listed are before on-road costs.
- 840i Gran Coupe: $184,900 (up $5000)
- 840i coupe: $187,900 (up $5000)
- 840i convertible: $202,900 (up $5000)
- M850i xDrive Gran Coupe: $282,900 (up $5000)
- M850i xDrive coupe: $285,900 (up $5000)
- M850i xDrive convertible: $294,900 (up $5000)
Keyword: BMW 8 Series update: mid-2022 release date with $5000 price rise offset by glowing grille