BMW's 8 Series brings new style to an old name

This is the BMW 8 Series Concept, a very thinly veiled preview of the upcoming production luxury coupe that will join the current 7er at the top of the automaker's lineup.

The coupe will revive the "8 Series" nameplate, which was produced between 1989 and 1999. The new design pays homage to that original model. (Is it too early to start "paying homage" to the 90s? I'm not sure.)

It doesn't have the pop-up headlamps, but the new 8er is rocking a wedge-shaped profile that comes to a point around the smaller-than-usual kidney grilles.

Beneath the sheet metal are underpinnings based on the 7 Series sedan. Expect both rear and xDrive all-wheel drive variants when the coupe reaches the market.

At its most potent, the 8 Series will be powered by a TwinPower Turbo gasoline engine. If the numbers line up with the 7er, expect 4.4-liters of displacement and about 445 horsepower.

Twin-turbo V6 and ActiveHybrid variants may also be available at or after the 2019 launch. While we're adding things to our wishlist, a 12-cylinder M Performance model also seems likely given its 7 Series roots.

An actual production-ready version of the 8 Series and more details about performance are expected sometime next year. 

The look is very conceptual but consider how well the i8 survived it's concept-to-production transition and what you see now could be pretty close to what you get later.