The 'new' BMW 8 Series

I think it looks great, much nicer than the equivalent Mercedes. I liked the fact that ours was the only 8.

Ugly as hell... Sorry, there is no more elegance left in this car. Our 8 Series was a beautifully elegant GT and I hoped the next one would be just as beautiful and desirable... Nope
The proportions are great but the execution is downright ugly. The huge grill and openings are missing any beauty and seem to be sketched by someone who has not much understanding of aesthetics.
The Interior? Boring. That's a concept car for god sake!

I guess it fits the taste of today tough and probably I'm too old...

Cheers
Steve

Aston Martin Rear End, typical BMW current interior, awful front end - that grille is vile!! I don't know how this helps us owners of E31's - hardly think BMW will continue to support us with parts if they have another 8 series in the stable. Anyway, how are you Sandwich? Not heard from you for ages - are you thinking of buying another 8??

I don't like it. In my eyes it tries too hard and is stuck in the uncanny valley of cars. When I look at it, I see the doors and I think "nice touch of Ferrari". I see the rear roof line and think "nice touch of Aston Martin". I see the huge air intakes in the front and outlets in the rear and think "nice touch of Lamborghini". But while all these work on the other cars, neither of them does on the new 8 series. Add the oversized kidney grille atrocity to the frankensteined appearance and there is the in-your-face automotive brutalism that I hoped BMW would overcome. But sadly, no: "This is BMW! Deal with it!"

The interior is better but not by much. At least it seems consistent to me and I like its sleekness, the flowing and continuous lines and the inner door handles in particular. It reminds me of the retro-futurism of the 1960's nuclear-powered concept cars. But again it lacks refinement. Why is there ersatz metal (plastic) on the steering wheel and middle console when there isn't on the doors? I don't expect a Pagani interior but even TVR chose better materials.

From a functional point of view: the less buttons the worse. When you have to take the eyes off the road in case your feet are too cold it's a design failure. Period. And the new 8 seems to fail a lot in that regard.

The old 8 series was an unusual BMW that stood apart, the new one is just kind of a 6. Meh.

...Mike