Yahoo Autos The 2019 BMW M850i Tries to Be Both Sports Car and GT
Some of us never lost the faith, and have the Bon Jovi T-shirts to prove it, but now it seems official that the 1980s are back in fashion. Netflix has given us Stranger Things, Stephen Spielberg has mined both the decade's pop culture and his role in it with Ready Player One. Now comes automotive proof of an '80s revival: BMW is replacing a 6-series with an all-new 8-series, something it last did back in 1989.
While the new M850i is heftier, brawnier and-of course-more expensive than the departing 650i, the fundamentals remain similar. That means sleek two-door bodywork cast around a component set shared with more workaday siblings, power from a muscular twin-turbocharged V-8, and a dynamic mission that tries to encompass both sports car and grand tourer.
Despite the badge inflation, overall dimensions actually have shrunk slightly. The M850i's 191.0-inch length is 1.8 inches shorter than that of the 650i, while its 111.1-inch wheelbase represents a loss of 1.3 inches. It's heavier, though, at approximately 4500 pounds, despite a structure that uses both aluminum and carbon fiber as well as the option of an unpainted carbon-fiber roof.
Don't fear, the increase in weight has been more than offset with a sizable hike in power. The M850i uses the same twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 that we've already seen in the impressively rapid M550i, but tuned to deliver a stonking 523 horsepower-67 more than in the sedan and 79 more ponies than were found in the old 650i. The torque peak is a Himalayan 553 lb-ft, with this available all the way from 1800 to 4600 rpm. The engine mates exclusively to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and its output is dispatched to the wheels via what's claimed to be a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. BMW is claiming a governed top speed of 155 mph and a searing 3.6-second zero-to-60-mph time for this two-ton leviathan, and chances are it may be a bit quicker in reality.
How M Was My Beamer?
Perhaps the most pressing question is how the 8-series manages to deliver on the values implied by the M badge it now wears, because BMW has had mixed success with the understudy M-performance variants that sit one rung below the single-integer M cars. (We love the M240i, not so much the M550i.) We know that a full-fat M8 is coming, so how much has been left on the table to ensure that car feels properly range-topping?
It was the 8-series' misfortune that BMW chose to give us some hot laps at the Estoril circuit in Portugal, a tight, technical 2.6-mile course. The BMW is a tidy dancer but definitely a sizable one. Initial steering responses are good, and the speeds it could reach on even Estoril's shorter straights left no doubt as to the V-8's potency. Although a standard rear-steering system tried its best to help, in the tighter turns there was more understeer than any sense of rear-biased torque delivery. Brake performance impressed, with the iron rotors resisting fade impressively well and the car remaining stable during harder stops.
You will be entirely unsurprised to hear that the M850i felt far happier on public roads. Refinement is outstanding. Portugal was sadly short of the sort of derestricted autobahn where we suspect the M850i would really excel (the engine is turning a lazy 2250 rpm at 100 mph in top gear), but the cabin remains tranquil even at a three-figure cruise. The adaptive damping keeps the ride, and the car's considerable weight, under tight control. But while the front seats proved comfortable and with a generous range of adjustment, the rears are definitely for occasional use only. Even average-size adults relegated back there sit with their heads hard against the roof and their knees compressed into the front seatbacks.
Although plenty of interior components and the overall design theme are shared with other BMWs, there is still a sense of specialness in the leather-faced steering wheel and the crystal-like gearshift lever, which looks as if it has been pulled from the top of a decanter. Unlike some rivals, you don't find technology for technology's sake-many functions are handled by good old-fashioned buttons. The 10.3-inch screen that sits at the center of the dashboard is touch-sensitive, but every function can still be controlled using the turn-and-click iDrive wheel.
While it shows plentiful signs of being an accomplished grand tourer, evidence for BMW's claims that the M850i is also a sports car is more limited. It certainly delivers an appropriate level of performance; the V-8 is as happy to run up its rev limiter as it is to surf its abundance of low-end torque. Hard use is accompanied by a suitably muscular soundtrack (abetted by what we're told is only a modest amount of electronic enhancement), and the Sport+ mode even introduces some pops and crackles with a lifted throttle.
But this is no Porsche 911. Traction on corner exit is never an issue; the steering feels crisper and relays more feedback than the disappointingly inert helm of the M550i. On tight roads, though, the M850i's mass and size are always in evidence. Our car was fitted with the optional active anti-roll bars, which resisted lean well, and the rear steering's assistance can be felt at lower speeds. But you know that whole "shrinking around you" thing? It definitely doesn't do that.
The M850i coupe stands at the vanguard of a wave of coming 8-series variants, including a convertible and a four-door Gran Coupe in addition to the more potent M8. With a base price of $112,895, it is in an underpopulated part of the market, trading at a discount compared with blue-chip GTs such as the Aston Martin DB11 V8 and the new Bentley Continental GT, although the comparison to the Porsche 911 GTS might be tougher. Still, consider the fact that when we tested the last BMW 850i back in 1991 it cost $91,000, equivalent to about $170K in 2018 dollars. That car had a naturally aspirated V-12 engine and a standard six-speed manual gearbox, both of which are strong positives, but it mustered barely half the power of the new version and took nearly twice as long to crack 60 mph. Nostalgia can only carry you so far.
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