We finally have a date for the debut of the production version of the 2019 BMW 8 Series Coupe The luxury coupe will be unveiled in full glory on June 15, on the eve of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours race where its racing sister, the BMW M8 GTE, will make its competition debut. 

BMW ha revealed a lot more about the racing 8 Series than it has the BMW 8 Series Coupe. But we know from the concept version and various bits of information that the handsome two-door Bimmer will have the kind of specs that would cause a great deal of worry for the Mercedes S-Class Coupe.

We also know of a hot version of the 8er, known as the M850i xDrive Coupe, with a superb V8 engine intelligent four-wheel drive, controlled rear axle differential lock, Integral Active Steering, adaptive M suspension technology Professional featuring Active Roll Stabilization and 20-inch light alloy wheels.

Now that is quite a recipe, and one that AMG will have to work harder to best. That said, the emphasis with the new BMW 8 Series Coupe, at least the non-M variants, is on ride comfort and long-distance cruising rather than sharp performance and lap times. You can’t really expect this car to be a track monster given the size of it, and the weight that inevitably comes with that.

“There isn’t be a better setting for the world premiere of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe than the 24-hour race at Le Mans,” says Klaus Fröhlich, board member of the BMW AG, Development. “The race is a pure demonstration of passion, dynamics and long-distance capability. These characteristics define our new sports car in a special way.”