For some years now, the 3-series Coupé isn't called coupé anymore, but 4-series.
If you keep that in mind, you'd think this new 8-series is a two-door 7-series.
But it isn't...
What it is however, is some sort of a forbidden love child between a Ford Mustang and a Porsche 911.
Let me explain that. At first glance, it looks a lot like a 7-series Coupé.
It almost weighs 2.000 kg, it's long, it's wide, it has a big V8 in the front...
So the first time you drive it, it really feels like a Mustang.
You've got to stay alert all the time to make sure it will remain between the lines.
It's a true GT as well, so if you put everything in Comfort-mode, it will feel incredibly comfortable.
It does have a sporty edge, but it's mostly comfortable.
And grand. And then there's the V8 in the front. It's a biturbo 4.4-litre, producing 530 horsepower...
and 750 Nm of torque. It does sound like a muscle car, right?
When you look at the list of used technologies however, it all starts to look like a 911 again.
I do have to say this is the M850i, which is the top of the range model for now,
and it's an M-Performance, which is positioned below the full M-model.
However, the list of technologies is very long. It's got xDrive four-wheel drive,
which sends most of its power to the back. That's is the reason the M850i has an electronically driven LSD as standard.
That way, the rear axle can actually do what it needs to do. If necessary however, the front wheels will kick in.
It's got four-wheel steering as well. It can countersteer for a sharper turn in,
or steer with the front wheels for more stability. It's got adaptive dampers and optionally, adaptive anti-roll bars.
When it's in Comfort-mode, they're very weak.
That way, the car can heave about a little and roll in the corners. That's very comfortable.
Whenever you put it in Sport-mode or if you speed up, the dampers become tighter as you go.
That means the car will roll less whenever you steer in, and that's what you want when you look for a sporty driving experience.
All kinds of technology you could find in the Porsche 911. So, if I put it in the most agressive Sport-mode,
will it become a real sports car? Well, no. It'll always be a GT-car,
much less sporty than a 911 would be, but it's so incredibly good.
It weighs 2.000 kg, and considering the measurements, you'd think this would be impossible.
But it still does what it does. Because of the rear wheels, which can countersteer up to 3 degrees...
at 88 km/h, this car feels a lot more compact.
The anti-roll bars make sure there is very little body roll, there are huge amounts of grip,
but the best about this car is the balance it has, and how much you're allowed to play with it.
You almost don't have any understeer when you steer in, despite the fact the weight is mostly at the front.
It's almost immediately neutralized when you give a whiff of throttle, and that's when you're allowed to play.
When you give it another whiff, you'll be power-oversteering through the corner.
Unfortunately enough, the steering is a tad too unclear. You're not just steering the front wheels, but the rear wheels as well.
I'd like to feel that a little clearer, considering the fact this produces 530 horsepower.
Other than that, the way this car is balanced just is right.
You can slam this around a mountain road at such high speeds. And that's incredibly fun to do. A really good job by BMW here...
The drivetrain then. The 4.4-litre V8 is incredibly responsive.
Huge amounts of power. 750 Nm of torque at 1.800 RPM,
so it's incredibly quick. Also, even though this is just an 'M-performance',
and it already sounds just as good as the M5 with sports exhaust. So there's some improvement there, it really starts to sound spectacular.
The 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox it's connected to has been improved as well, which means it's now even quicker.
It's just fantastic to play with this on a mountain road. It'll really reward you when you're driving on the edge.
If you want to see some flaws, you should take it to the track. We're in Portugal now, which has a very nice circuit called Estoril.
We were allowed to drive the M850i there today, but that's where you notice this is not a real M-car.
That means the brakes start to suffer after a while, because they have to stop 2.000 kg all of the time.
The tires start heating up too much... You name it. That's when you notice...
If that's what you want however, you should wait a little longer,
because there will be an M8 in time. And an 8-series convertible. And an 8-series Gran Coupé.
I do seriously question that however, because there's absolutely no legroom back here,
so I wouldn't know how they would fold four people in here. But we'll see about that later.
But in short, this isn't the grand finale. A hybrid between a Ford Mustang and a Porsche 911.
It sounds like a pizza shoarma. Two things which are fantastic individually, but never should be combined.
However, it still tastes pretty good. And if you consider the fact that this is just the entree...
I'm incredibly hungry all of a sudden...