Don’t Expect the BMW M8 Coupe or Convertible Anytime Soon

by Sam Philbrook

Published on September 15, 2020 6:10 pm

3 min read

Fans of BMW‘s luxury vehicles have already experienced disappointment about the 2021 models. First of all, the 2021 BMW Alpina XB7 has already sold out. There’s always the pre-owned market, but if you were waiting for a 2021 vehicle to be used then it’s unlikely you wanted to buy it this year. But cars selling out is an easier problem to solve than vehicles not making it to the United States in the first place. That’s what BMW fans are dealing with on the most recent M8 Coupe and Convertible.

No Coupes or Convertibles in 2021?

An article from Motor Trend outlined BMW’s decision to leave the Coupe and Convertible off their BMW M8 offerings in America for the model year 2021. Although BMW hasn’t officially announced the reason for this, the Motor Trend article suspects it’s due to the high number of 2020 Coupes and Convertibles that dealers already have on hand. The BMW line’s future is up in the air, so they may return to offering the 2022 model.

However, BMW is still proudly offering the BMW M8 Gran Coupe, along with the regular 8 Series models. It’s only the specific Coupe and Convertible that are missing. Most likely, BMW will analyze sales of the Gran Coupe and other models this year to determine if they want to invest in bringing the Coupe and Convertible back. BMW has no shortage of vehicles to offer, and some even hold their value enough to be recommended as used vehicles a few years later.

What the normal 8 Series offers versus the 7

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No words needed to make this statement. #THE7 Pure Excellence. #BMW #7Series #excellence #luxury

A post shared by BMW (@bmw) on Jul 5, 2020 at 5:10am PDT

But the BMW 8 Series is in a class all its own. A recent comparison between the 8 Series and the 7 Series demonstrated that although the BMW 7 Series seems to have a little more comfort, the 8 Series is pushing the cars to their limits. The 8 Series seems to be making progress for speed and performance everywhere, and it’s possible that BMW wanted to focus on the best base model possible before bringing it to the U.S.

One interesting note is that BMW seems to have gone all-out in their designs for some of this year’s vehicles. The 2021 BMW M8 Convertible isn’t available in America, but it is available in birch green. A strange combination of lemon-lime and neon green is what BMW has decided to offer this year.

It doesn’t appear to be the specific reason that BMW has held back on offering the vehicle stateside, but new colors haven’t traditionally sold too well in America. BMW may be gauging Europe’s reception before deciding to offer the Coupe and Convertible in the U.S. for 2022.

Absurd performances from the Gran Coupe

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Swipe to select your seat. The first-ever BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupé. #TheM8 #BMW #M8 #BMWM __ BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupé: Fuel consumption in l/100 km (combined): 10.7–10.5*. CO2 emissions in g/km (combined): 244–240*. Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 3.2 s. Power: 460 kW, 625 hp, 750 Nm. Top speed (limited): 250 km/h (with optional M Drivers Package: 305 km/h). *All performance, fuel consumption and emissions figures are provisional. The values of fuel consumptions, CO2 emissions and energy consumptions shown were determined according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the version applicable at the time of type approval. The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and the range shown considers optional equipment and the different size of wheels and tires available on the selected model. The values of the vehicles are already based on the new WLTP regulation and are translated back into NEDC-equivalent values in order to ensure the comparison between the vehicles. [With respect to these vehicles, for vehicle related taxes or other duties based (at least inter alia) on CO2-emissions the CO2 values may differ to the values stated here.] The CO2 efficiency specifications are determined according to Directive 1999/94/EC and the European Regulation in its current version applicable. The values shown are based on the fuel consumption, CO2 values and energy consumptions according to the NEDC cycle for the classification. Further information on official fuel consumption figures and specific CO2 emission values of new passenger cars is included in the following guideline: 'Leitfaden über den Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen' (Guide to the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained free of charge from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at https://www.dat.de/co2/.

A post shared by BMW (@bmw) on Jan 13, 2020 at 8:01am PST

Luckily for potential BMW buyers, the M8 Gran Coupe provides one of the most exciting luxury experiences on the road. It recently showed up on a list of five exciting upcoming sports cars alongside “bigger” names like the Tesla Roadster and the Polestar 1. There are certainly more expensive, flashy versions of the M8: the Golden Thunder, for instance. But the bottom line is that any model of the M8 is fun and exciting, and U.S. fans hopefully won’t miss too much without the Coupe and Convertible for a year or two.

BMW has successfully built a brand as a luxury vehicle provider, but not entirely out of range. Luxury car buyers who save their money for a few years can afford a BMW on a “normal” salary. And BMW continues to innovate, but the company can only take so many risks while maintaining their bottom line. If the numbers make sense, we’ll likely see the M8 Coupe and Convertible return.