While we’re preparing to say goodbye to the modern 8 Series, BMW is throwing it back to the original. Rare images taken in the 1980s inside the wind tunnel show the E31. Not just the stunning coupe we’re all familiar with, but also the lesser-known convertible prototype. Afficionados will remember that Munich once toyed with the idea of a droptop. Well, that elusive variant makes a rare appearance in this collage published on social media.
Of the 30,621 units produced between 1989 and 1999, all were built with a fixed metal roof. Even so, BMW did develop a one-off 850i Convertible between 1989 and late 1990. Despite the time and resources poured into the open-air version, the cabrio was ultimately canceled. Why? Company higher-ups feared it wouldn’t be popular enough to justify the financial investment.
One of the images depicting the coupe in the wind tunnel is dated November 5, 1987. The production version didn’t arrive until a couple of years later, debuting in September 1989 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Work on the E31 had begun in the mid-1980s, and the car wasn’t conceived as a replacement for the E24 6 Series but rather as a more upscale product.
Penned by Klaus Kapitza, the OG 8 Series wasn’t just a looker, as it also carried a remarkably sleek body. Wind tunnel testing and computer-aided design (CAD) techniques contributed to its impressively low drag coefficient of 0.29. By contrast, the first-gen 6 Series had a Cd of 0.39 when Paul Bracq penned its gorgeous lines in the early 1970s.
We had to wait nearly two decades for the 8 Series to return after the E31 was retired. When the G15 arrived, BMW finally rolled out an 8 Series Convertible with the G14 launch in 2018. Now the second-generation 8 Series is facing imminent extinction, and to make matters worse, there’s no replacement in sight.
Speaking of models with folding roofs that aren’t coming back, we also had to say goodbye to the Z4 this week.
Photos: BMW Classic / Instagram
