Facelift for big coupe includes mild exterior updates, glowing grille and overhaul of infotainment
BMW has freshened up its 8 Series coupe, cabriolet and Gran Coupe as well as its supercar-baiting M8 for 2022.
Set to make its public debut at the US Emelia Island concours this March, the headline news for the 8 Series sold in Europe is all body variants now come standard with the M Sports body kit.
The visual updates include a sportier front bumper and rear bumper, with the latter incorporating a more defined diffuser. There’s also 19-inch rims and bigger upgraded brakes with blue calipers on models powered by the base inline six-cylinders.
More expensive V8-powered models now get M8-inspired design cues that include a new splitter up front, M8 door mirrors, a rear spoiler and a diffuser finished in a dark metallic hue.
Both 20-inch rims and an M-Sport differential are now standard.
At the top of the 8 Series tree, the powerful M8 mid-life tweaks are subtle. There’s a choice of fresh exterior paint, a dark Shadow Line option and new 20-inch M-sport alloy wheels.
On both 8 Series and M8 there’s a new updated illuminated grille that features a lit-up surround and ‘waterfall’ lighting for each grille blade – the added lighting is activated when the door is opened and can be turned off.
Helping celebrate half a century of the German brand’s BMW M, both the 8 Series and the M8 are now offered with optional BMW badges that swap out the blue and white for blue, purple and red.
Other changes include the base models getting more comfortable multi-contoured seats, while the previous 10.25-inch infotainment system on cheaper models is binned for the a larger 12.3-inch system found in the M8.
Under the bonnet, there’s been no further developments of the existing range, meaning for Australia the range is set to continue to kick-off with the 250kW/500Nm 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder that powers the 840i-badged models.
The M850i, meanwhile, keeps its 390kW/750Nm 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8.
Finally, the M8 keeps its 460kW/750Nm 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 that, even with the heaviest Gran Coupe body, delivers a 0-100km/h time of just 3,2 seconds.
Australian deliveries of the refreshed 8 Series and M8 are expected to commence in the second half of 2022.
Keyword: BMW M8 and 8 Series get mid-life refresh