850i GC

[Frupal]

I just saw this car in Newport Beach. I’m sorry to say that I was underwhelmed. It seems to have lost the signature BMW look. Perhaps because they got rid of the kink. It might be a Lexus or any number of other cars.

[MichaelInChicago]

Thanks for posting this.

The 650 GC is a more beautiful car in every way and is signature BMW, agressive but not pretentious; low, wide and long that gives it perfect proportions.

Sometimes, one must leave well enough alone. I guess BMW forgot about this message when designing the 850GC.

[thebmw]

I want to find out who designed the 8GC. I'm guessing it is a younger person who doesn't understand design language (and thinks fake air vents are "cool"). Loser.

[NorthCountryGuy]

Overly complicated rear lines. Not proportional to the ‘flow’ of the front.
From the side, almost looks like a hatchback.
Gimmicky and approaching rice.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by NorthCountryGuy

Overly complicated rear lines. Not proportional to the ‘flow’ of the front.
From the side, almost looks like a hatchback.
Gimmicky and approaching rice.

Definitely gimmicky and it will not age well (definitely worse than the 6). People buy BMWs vs JDM to avoid rice. I don't see the 8 selling well. I guess that is why they already announced that it will be discontinued.

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Definitely gimmicky and it will not age well (definitely worse than the 6). People buy BMWs vs JDM to avoid rice. I don't see the 8 selling well. I guess that is why they already announced that it will be discontinued.

They Have?

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Frupal

They Have?

Announced in July...axing slow selling models.

https://www.tflcar.com/2019/07/bmw-w...-in-the-2020s/

"BMW plans to trim its slow selling models, while releasing new ones.
The 8 Series and Z4 in particular are strange additions to the list, since they both just went on sale. However, since they are new additions to BMW’s lineup, they should stick around for at least another four to eight years. It just depends on whether BMW wants to give either car a mid-cycle refresh before giving them the ax, if that’s indeed what happens."

[thebmw]

Looks like some young Brit named John Buckingham designed the 8 concept. He was proud to say that he got rid of the kink and "Zicker Line". So basically, he gave the middle finger to decades of tradition and style and thought it was cool. Such a Millennial thing to do, like the world was meaningless before they plopped on this Earth!

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/c...ohn-buckingham

“There is no Zicker line up the side,” he says. “Normally you have the classic window graphic with the Hofmeister kink at the rear pillar. And below it you have a sharp line, the Zicker line. That’s been removed on this car.”

Then he goes on to say:
“BMWs always have a lot of structure and there’s a lot of design theory behind it. Lots of time goes into surfaces and radius work. If you look at the rear corner of the 8 Series, we spent a lot of time to make sure it all worked. BMW is obsessive about this stuff.”

Dude, if fake air vents is the best you could do with the rear corners, please do the world a favor and find another line of work!

[thebmw]

GOOD NEWS:

He left BMW and works for Bentley now.
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/john-buckingham-b226772a

[thebmw]

Real talent would have been maintaining the kink and the line while still creating lines that flowed and were cohesive. Oh wait, they already did something like that with the 6! But seriously, he didn't have to rip off Lexus to create a "new" BMW.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Looks like some young Brit named John Buckingham designed the 8 concept.

Then he goes on to say:
“BMWs always have a lot of structure and there’s a lot of design theory behind it. Lots of time goes into surfaces and radius work. If you look at the rear corner of the 8 Series, we spent a lot of time to make sure it all worked. BMW is obsessive about this stuff.”

Dude, if fake air vents is the best you could do with the rear corners, please do the world a favor and find another line of work!

OMG...that's utterly laughable. The very thing that he says that it took time to make sure it works...is the very thing many totally dislike about the car.

I guess if you think "dog jowls in the wind" is a good look...then you also probably think the rear corners of the new 8 series is sexy, too.

And I guess this guy has never lived anywhere that gets any appreciable snow...can you imagine how much snow that area is going to catch around the rear license plate? It's a literal SHELF that is going to build up with snow...especially the light fluffy type. Which means that when you pull into your garage...if you didn't clean that section off...when it melts and runs back to the entrance of the garage door...you're going to freeze as it runs up against the sweep at the bottom of the garage door. But I guess if you can afford a new 8...you probably have a heated garage/garage floor or a dedicated snow vehicle so this won't even be an issue.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Oh boy, I can never look at an 8 the same again!

[BMPOWERED]

I always thought the 6 series coupe was a gorgeous car and the gran coupe treatment arguably made it even prettier. However, in the case of the 8, I actually like the 8 coupe, but the design language did not translate well at all into the 4 door gran coupe design. Good luck BMW in getting people to shell out $125k for this car

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by BMPOWERED

Good luck BMW in getting people to shell out $125k for this car

Exactly. Name one thing this car does better than any other car over 100k. At least with the 6GC, it looks great. Can't find a single redeeming quality for the 8GC.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Looks like some young Brit named John Buckingham designed the 8 concept. He was proud to say that he got rid of the kink and "Zicker Line". So basically, he gave the middle finger to decades of tradition and style and thought it was cool. Such a Millennial thing to do, like the world was meaningless before they plopped on this Earth!

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/c...ohn-buckingham

“There is no Zicker line up the side,” he says. “Normally you have the classic window graphic with the Hofmeister kink at the rear pillar. And below it you have a sharp line, the Zicker line. That’s been removed on this car.”

Then he goes on to say:
“BMWs always have a lot of structure and there’s a lot of design theory behind it. Lots of time goes into surfaces and radius work. If you look at the rear corner of the 8 Series, we spent a lot of time to make sure it all worked. BMW is obsessive about this stuff.”

Dude, if fake air vents is the best you could do with the rear corners, please do the world a favor and find another line of work!

Hilarious, true, and sad all wrapped into one!

I really wanted the 8 to be my next BMW when the concept was revealed. I had even reached out to my sales rep asking him to inform me when they had more info on a production version. When I saw the spy shots I knew it was all over. They messed it up.

What's TRULY terrible here is that this designer KNOWINGLY "broke" the design language and felt proud to do it. Yes, sometimes you break out to do something amazing... but a few quick focus groups would have told this kid that the 8's design was a flop.

Every time I see a 6, it looks beautiful to me. Not remotely the same thing with the 8. In fact, I'd MUCH sooner take a 5 series if I had to buy a new BMW today. Not a good situation for BMW considering the 6-series buyers were their built-in consumer base for the 8.

[doggboy]

The coupe isnt any better. It looks like a mustang had sex with a Lexus SC430.

[thebmw]

John Buckingham said in an interview that he thought the traditional lines and kinks of BMWs were too constricting. So basically, he said that the fundamental bones and DNA of BMW were boring. That's how he created the 8 blob. It's like saying our skeletal structure is constricting so let's get rid of it.

He also said that he was fascinated by by how a curved area, like what he did on the door and quarter panel of the 8, reflects light. Yeah, that's kind of what happens when light reflects off of paint. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Bigjule1111]

In one word .. LEXUS!

[MichaelInChicago]

650 GC. There is no substitute.

[board57796]

Yes I’m sure BMWs target market for their $110,000 flagship is ”tasteless Millennials”...

[bimmer12]

Originally Posted by debdoub

Whoever designed this needs to be strapped into a chair and beaten with a hammer. The rear end is just [bad] l wouldn't hire the designer for painting the white lines.

Maybe tasteless millennials, victim culture will fall for this thing.

As a tasteless millennial I detest the design of the new 8. But I agree with your comment regarding the white lines lol.

[Havy]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

OMG...that's utterly laughable. The very thing that he says that it took time to make sure it works...is the very thing many totally dislike about the car.

I guess if you think "dog jowls in the wind" is a good look...then you also probably think the rear corners of the new 8 series is sexy, too.

And I guess this guy has never lived anywhere that gets any appreciable snow...can you imagine how much snow that area is going to catch around the rear license plate? It's a literal SHELF that is going to build up with snow...especially the light fluffy type. Which means that when you pull into your garage...if you didn't clean that section off...when it melts and runs back to the entrance of the garage door...you're going to freeze as it runs up against the sweep at the bottom of the garage door. But I guess if you can afford a new 8...you probably have a heated garage/garage floor or a dedicated snow vehicle so this won't even be an issue.

Originally Posted by MichaelInChicago

650 GC. There is no substitute.

Well said