Roughly five months after reviving the 8 Series name for a new grand touring coupe, BMW puts it under the knife to introduce the first-ever 8 Series Convertible. The first examples of these droptops will roll into dealers in the United States in March 2019 at a base price of $121,400, plus an additional $995 destination fee. In comparison, the hardtop will go on sale in December starting at $111,900 before destination.

It was approximately four months ago when BMW pressed play on the 8 Series Coupe production button and now it’s doing the same for the equivalent Convertible. Replacing the defunct 6 Series Convertible, the large luxury droptop is being put together on the same assembly line as the 5 Series and 7 Series variants at the factory in Dingolfing. It’s the place where 1,600 cars are produced each day from the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Series lineups.

The 8 Series models featured here in coupe and convertible shapes are the 840d variants equipped with an inline-six turbodiesel engine. As you probably know by now, the 3.0-liter unit delivers 320 horsepower and 502 pound-feet (680 Newton-meters) of torque channeled exclusively to the xDrive all-wheel-drive system through an eight-speed Steptronic gearbox.

If diesels are not your cup of tea and you want something with more muscle feeding on gasoline, you’ll have to step up to the M850i xDrive and its “completely redeveloped” twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8. The hotter 8 Series Convertible offers 530 hp and a meaty 553 lb-ft (750 Nm), also sent to both axles via the eight-speed auto. These two powertrain versions of the resurrected 8er will be joined at some point next year by a higher specification of the V8 reserved to the M8 bound to be offered not only for the Coupeand Convertible, but also for the yet-to-be-revealed Gran Coupe.

It’s worth mentioning the Dingolfing facility is one of BMW’s 30 global production sites and it’s the place where more than 376,000 cars rolled off the assembly lines last year. To prepare the factory for the trio of 8 Series body styles, BMW had to invest a “total amount in the low three-digit-million-euro range.”

The large plant currently employs roughly 18,000 people, plus 800 apprentices eager to learn how it’s done. Aside from assembling cars, the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing also manufactures components as well as the car bodies for all Rolls-Royce models.