Last year at Villa d’Este, BMW’s Adrian van Hooydonk told TG.com that as a company, BMW is “constantly looking to expand [the] range as we have done in the past. We’re looking at every opportunity, and maybe an 8 Series could be such an opportunity”.

Now, BMW boss Harald Krüger has stated emphatically that the 8 Series will return, arriving in 2018 as a “true luxury sports coupe”. Today, we see for the first time what an all-new 8 Series might look like, via this shady sketch of the concept car set to be unveiled at the end of this month.

BMW’s now familiar proving ground of Villa d’Este - that achingly cool luxury concours show held on the banks of the achingly gorgeous Lake Como - will host the premiere of the 8 Series Coupe Concept.

We’re promised the usual tropes of ‘uncompromising dynamics’ and ‘contemporary luxury’. “The BMW 8 Series Coupe will build on our tradition of luxurious sports coupes and add a genuine dream car to our line-up,” Krüger added. It will go toe-to-toe with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe of course; BMW’s reinvention of a very well thought-of car from its back catalogue.

Krüger notes how the new 8 Series Coupe, when it lands at some point in 2018, “will be a true luxury sports coupe”. We can’t wait - the old 8 Series remains a highlight of BMW’s past, and judging by the teaser image above, the silhouette looks rather lovely.

We’ll bring you more as soon as the car is revealed in Italy on 26 May 2017. For now, let us know your thoughts on an 8 Series return, and click here for Top Gear’s guide on why the old 8 Series is great.