big expensive German luxury coupes are a beautiful thing they're stylish pack
with all the latest technology and they can eat up highway mile after highway
mile an easy comfort but they're also an endangered species with car shoppers
these days preferring big luxury SUVs the personal luxury coupes in fact you
believe the rumor mill this BMW M 850 I behind me may not be long for this world
reports say the BMW may cancel production after it's barely begun or
only a few years from now that means this could become a rare sight indeed if
you're into big expensive luxurious convertibles you might want to get one
sooner rather than later it ain't a lack of style that's keeping
customers away yes there's been some criticism that an eighth series coupe
and convertible look a little too much like a German Ford Mustang I can
definitely see some similarities especially when looking at the side
profile but that's not necessarily a bad thing both cars are very attractive with
taut sheetmetal pulled over VAT rear haunches meant to suggest power and
speed the lines only get better when you drop the top on the convertible model
that dramatically raked windshield stretches over the front occupants to
really prevent wind buffeting in fact the lack of wind disturbance in the
cabin with the top windows down is exceptional even without the snap in
place rear windscreen driving the m8 50s eyes and cushy comfortable Grand Touring
style this is not a sports car it's too heavy and too isolated for that
description even with the M designation that BMW has added to let you know that
this is a sporty er version of the 8 Series two-door no the M 815 and
enjoying the voyage than circling your favorite Road course on track day load
up yourself and a friend drop the top and go enjoy a canyon road at dusk on
the way to dinner on the coast or like me if you live in the Midwest enjoy the
scant few weeks every year that we call convertible weather on your commute to
and from the office you'll have plenty of power from the twin turbocharged 4.4
liter v8 engine makes 523 horsepower amazing sauce pipes the power gets to
all four wheels through a standard 8-speed automatic transmission so you
won't be barking the tires on hard acceleration or doing any smoky burnouts
the name of the game is grip as the car Rockets from zero to 60 in just 3.8
seconds according to BMW in a straight line it's wonderful with plenty of power
and throttle response that entices you to stab the accelerator frequently the
engine is pretty much the highlight of the m8 5000 and is less enjoyable the
brake by wire system the m855 or ease of modulation and stopping but they do grip
solidly it can bleed off speed quickly the steering isn't all that great either
thanks to an overabundance of electric boosting variable ratios and safety
reminders it works well enough but it's not enticing you to drive the BMW all
that aggressively stick to Boulevard cruising or a lovely trip on a coastal
road and you'll be much happier the interior is a nice place to be as well
with premium materials throughout and highly adjustable seats up front the
crystal shift knob is controversial however some drivers think it looks like
clear plastic and feels cheap in the hand you sit low in the m8 5000 a
stretched-out driving position that's the exact opposite of the latest trend
at high riding crossovers visibility isn't bad with the top down and even
with it up the long side windows allow for decent views to the sides and rear
you'll want to avoid the backseat though even for kids it's gonna be a little
tight from a technology standpoint the m8 50
we're not yet convinced that the latest high-tech digital gauge cluster works
there's a lot of information there but it's not presented in an easy-to-read
format apple carplay is here if you pay the annual subscription fee to BMW for
it but it's a wireless system connected through the cars Wi-Fi and doesn't stay
reliably connected for everyone Android auto is not supported the controls are
well laid out and mostly feel properly luxurious thankfully there's a minimum
of touch sensitive buttons here only the centre console has capacitive touch
style switches and they actually come with some feel to them the car also
features BMWs latest gesture control system maybe you'll like it
maybe you'll find a gimmicky expanded gestures available it might
have some more usefulness than just amazing your passengers the big reason
you won't see many of these personal luxury cars in the road these days comes
when you have to look at the sticker price a hundred and twenty two thousand
three hundred and ninety five dollars with the destination charge that's a lot
of coin for something like this but there aren't many competitors in the
class a mercedes-benz s-class convertible costs at least as much as is
the Maserati GranTurismo convertible even a Porsche 911 convertible is within
a few thousand dollars of the BMW so you do have options if you're looking for a
luxury convertible Grand Touring and style is really what you're after
however the 2019 BMW M 850 I convertible as a solid stylish choice if you'd like
to know more about this or any other BMW convertibles come check us out at cars.com