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
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.