Worthy of the badge?
It's the return of the king. The much loved 8-series BMW, this time in gran coupe attire, sporting four doors while keeping the coupe shape. Last seen in 1999, we were given a follow up 19 years later, this time having the option of two or four door variants. The new range topper is an impressive vehicle, but even with all that this new 8-series has, it still feels like it's missing some of what gave the old 8 its charm.
The Gran Coupe shares many similarities with its coupe siblings, but on top having four doors the Gran Coupe is longer, wider and taller. The front quarter is the same throughout the 8's line up but after the windscreen, the designs diverge. The Gran Coupe is 230 mm longer, 30.5 mm wider and 56 mm taller that the coupe. This change in size does separate the Gran Coupe quite a bit. The rear window setup has been designed to increase the body's torsional rigidity as well as reduce exterior noise. Some of the metalwork around the rear window needs to be completed by hand. The iconic kidney grill houses active air intake slats, and surrounding them are large openings in the bumper, designed for an aggressive appearance.
Sporting a savage bi-turbo V8, the M850i produces 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. Needless to say, it's quick: 3.9 seconds to 100 km/h quick. It's lively, and throaty, with plenty of pops in 'sport' mode. Transitioning from leisure to full sport driving happens almost instantly as that large 4.4 liter engine and 8-speed Steptronic sport transmission are always ready to attack. It's the same engine available in the 5, 6, and 7-series. Though the 8-series was the first road going BMW to offer a v12 paired with a manual transmission, this new version offers neither. Sadly the manual part is expected, but when the m760Li is still available and has a V12, it's curious as to why this wasn't the engine of choice when bringing the line back, or at the very least having an option. At least there is launch control.
The ride is smooth, as the shocks absorb the bumps well and when called upon they're stiff enough to keep the car planted in the turns. Handling seemed excellent to me, but only having public roads to use, and with it being winter, I couldn't find how far I could push the car. It's not M2 competition level of fun but I expect that it can be pushed much harder than I ever did, as the car is fitted with sport seats, front and back, so that not only the driver feels the performance but even the company in the back can too.
Inside is luxurious but with a sporty focus. Bolstered sport seats wrapped in a suppple leather, and perforated to allow for the cooling. Lumbar support is adjustable so you can set it to hold you in place should you throw the car into the turns. The seats are thinner to give extra knee space for the rear passengers, though the rear legroom was far from lacking as being longer than the coupe, it benefits from an extra 180 mm of legroom. The 8-series Gran Coupe has the widest rear track of any BMW, which adds some shoulder room for the rear occupants where four seats have been provided, though it is possible to hold five. The standard 16-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound illuminates the car, and not just with sound. The speakers feature integrated soft LED lighting throughout the cabin. The rear occupants can enjoy all the comforts in relative privacy with automatic window screens which they can operate and their own separate panoramic roof window. You can also set up the car's cameras to record if it detects an accident, removing the need for an ugly dashcam to dirty your pretty dash.
Now, the m850i Gran Coupe is a fantastic vehicle, I can't see how you wouldn't like it really, but there's a major problem I have with this car. There's the lack of optional massage seats, and the leg extension for the seats is manually operated, leaving it without minor adjustments. But these points aren't my issue with the car.
My issue with the car is that it seems to be a re-badged 6-series. BMW might not say this is the case, but it just is. Look at the old 6-series; the 8 is just a refresh. My guess for why the 6-series is what it is now is they couldn't have both an updated 6-series and the new 8-series together. What would they do with the 6? Have a slightly outdated interior, but have more options available and a more comfortable ride? Everything else would be mostly the same. Same engine, same design with little difference in performance, if any. But why don't we have both? I counted at least 43 different models in BMW's lineup, that's all about options. Why not give a luxury version? As the car should probably be, why not give us the m760Li in coupe/gran coupe form? Then we'd be back to the proper engine. If they kept the 6-series gran coupe and had it spec'd the same as the X6, I'd be going for that. It just doesn't seem different enough to warrant the 8 identification.
At the end of the day, you probably don't really care, because it's a superb car, and having the wrong name doesn't lesson the performance or fun of the car. If you have $138k (as tested) to put towards a blisteringly quick four-door coupe, then go for it, you'll love it.
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