The car will be a coupé-styled rival to the Range Rover and upcoming Audi Q8. It will also be pit against low-end versions of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
BMW’s head of development, Klaus Fröhlich, said, “The sector is growing fast, so there will be opportunity,” said Fröhlich. “It is early to talk about X8, but one of the first decisions I made when I worked on product strategy was to take the X5 and make the X6. Everyone said it was not necessary, but it worked. Now we have the X2, X4 and X6 internationally. They are emotional and sporty derivatives that work for us. There is room for X8 – especially in markets like China – but there are no decisions yet. Each car must have a distinct character, and these are the sort of areas that take time to evaluate.”
The possibility of a V12-engined X8, powered by the 592bhp 6.6-litre unit, found in the 7-series, is highly likely. The other, a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain will use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine operating in combination with an electric motor as well.