BMW may be plotting an X8 - could it compete with Maybach and even Rolls-Royce?
A family-sized SUV coupé is said to be taking shape to slot in above the X7
Image: Supplied
As the SUV population grows with more shapes and sizes ventured, rumours abound that BMW is preparing a new nameplate.
The German premium brand had by 2016 patented the X8 moniker. Reserving a patent usually signals a manufacturer's intention to start designing. At times it culminates in nothing - as merely a way to secure a name that cannot to be used by rival brands.
Now BMW has reportedly registered the "X8 M" patent with a trademark office, solidifying suspicions of a new model range in the horizon.
But what would an X8 look like?
Using BMW’s naming strategy over the past few decades, even numbers denote sportier, coupé-style variants ahead of the more conventional shapes of the 1, 3,5 and 7 Series. If the X8 materialises, sense dictates it will be built with the ethos of the X6, which is a curvier sister of the X5 SUV.
Is BMW toying with the idea of making a seven-seater jumbo coupe?
At this point, an X8 looks to be more sensible if it were to be an SUV that’s larger and even more luxurious than the X7 - to compete with the Maybach GLS or even the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Only time will tell.