Ten Second Review
What should a top luxury sports coupe be? Sharp and driver-orientated like a Porsche 911? Or a luxurious Grand Tourer like the Mercedes S-Class Coupe? If you can't decide, this BMW 8 Series Coupe might offer the perfect solution.
BMW enters the large luxury coupe market with this sleekly-styled 8 Series model. Jonathan Crouch takes a look..
What should a top luxury sports coupe be? Sharp and driver-orientated like a Porsche 911? Or a luxurious Grand Tourer like the Mercedes S-Class Coupe? If you can't decide, this BMW 8 Series Coupe might offer the perfect solution.
To begin with, two 8 Series Coupe engines are on offer, both with xDrive 4WD as standard. The enthusiasts' initial choice will be the M850i variant, which uses much the same 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 you'll find in the brand's M5 super saloon but here tuned to 530hp. An M Sport exhaust delivers a snarly soundtrack and there are the usual 'Driving Experience Control' modes - 'Eco', 'Comfort', 'Sport' and 'Sport+'. There's 750Nm of torque and 62mph from rest takes just 3.7s. If that's not fast enough, you'll want to talk to your dealer about the even quicker M8 model that BMW has planned. The alternative option is the 840d xDrive diesel variant, which uses the brand's familiar 3.0-litre six-cylinder in-line diesel with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. It delivers a maximum output of 320hp and peak torque of 680Nm. For a more focussed and sporty handling, Integral Active Steering is fitted as standard to reduce the turning circle when manoeuvring. This also increases agility at moderate speeds and optimises poise and assurance when changing lanes and cornering at high speeds. It becomes more direct as the speed builds but allows the driver to manoeuvre at low speeds with minimal steering wheel movement. Optional active roll stabilisation further enhances the handling characteristics. Electric swivel motors on the front and rear axles ensure particularly fast and precise compensation of lateral forces.
8 Series Coupe pricing starts at just over £76,000 for the 840d xDrive, rising to just under £100,000 for the desirable M850i xDrive variant. Highlights include Merino leather upholstery, a Head-up display, Active Park Distance Control and the BMW 'Live Cockpit Professional' infotainment set-up, which includes a 12.3 inch instrument binnacle display screen and a 10.25-inch centre-dash monitor. Via this, you'll have access to an adaptive nav system, a hard-drive-based multimedia system with 20GB, two USB ports, plus Bluetooth and WiFi interfaces. Plus there's plenty of cutting-edge camera-driven safety kit and autonomous driving tech. The driver assistance systems process camera images as well as data gathered by ultrasonic and radar sensors to monitor the vehicle's surroundings, to warn of potential hazards and to minimise the risk of an accident with corrective braking or steering inputs. The car is equipped as standard with Cruise Control with braking function, as well as Collision and Pedestrian Warning with City Braking, the latest version of which also alerts the driver when a cyclist is detected. Depending on the situation, the system can bring the vehicle to a halt to either avoid a collision or minimise its consequences.
We can see this 8 Series model carving out a useful niche for itself. M5-style drive dynamics and 7 Series saloon luxury is a combination likely to appeal to quite a few boardroom-level buyers. Of course, you'll never get the trackday-style feel of a 911, but potential buyers are unlikely to want that. And the greater practicality, technology and safety of this '8' will for them be ample compensation. Plus it makes a particularly striking aesthetic statement. Which you'll want if this car is to properly reward you for a lifetime's endeavour. It should elegantly be able to do just that.