The BMW M850i Gran Coupe is Exceptional, and so Is the Price
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The sporty BMW 2002 retailed for $2,847 in 1969, and even allowing for inflation it was a bit of a bargain at the time. Consider that a cheap and cheerful Toyota Corolla cost $1,816 back then. There’s been a lot of price inflation since, with the average car transaction having reached $35,623 by the end of last year.
All this is to introduce the sticker on my test M850i Gran Coupe—$122,775 (including $12,880 in options). Go for the convertible, and we’re talking about a starting price of $122,395.
It’s enough to make me cry, because this BMW (on sale since September) is my favorite vehicle in some time. It just hits all the bases. It’s very stylish (not always the case with BMWs these days), blisteringly fast (zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds), yet docile in traffic, hugely comfortable, and accommodating to five, with an extra-taut ride that never rattles the old bones. I could cruise all day on the autobahns, or get stuck in traffic without any loss of cool.
But in an era when even SUVs easily cost six figures, this prime example of the endangered sports coupe (despite the name, it has four doors) is worth considering. If you’re worried about winter traction, BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system is standard. I drove the BMW into the teeth of a winter storm, and it never once lost its grip. Safety features include lane departure and front collision warning, blind spot detection, traffic jam assist, dynamic stability and traction control, adaptive suspension with active roll stabilization, and big M Sport disc brakes with cornering brake control.
The core of this car is a 4.4-liter, 32-valve twin-turbo V8 connected to an eight-speed automatic with optional manual control. The V8 produces 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, good for an electronically limited 155 miles per hour. And there are even more powerful and expensive 600+ horsepower M8 versions—coupe ($133,000) and convertible ($142,500). Considering how much power is on tap and a curb weight of 4,476 pounds, the 20 miles per gallon EPA rating (17 city and 25 highway) isn’t that bad.
I never felt less than supremely in control of this BMW, even when just throwing it into corners without braking. It benefits from four-wheel steering (once an oddball option, but now quite useful) as well as all-wheel drive.
Really, the list of features on this car is quite stunning—reminiscent of Porsche’s superb (and also supremely expensive) 959 from 1986. That one, far ahead of its time, also sported all-wheel drive, and a twin-turbo powertrain with more than 400 horsepower. (But it was also very expensive, and only 292 were produced.)
The M850i Gran Coupe is stylish from any angle, including the rear.
BMW
Some of the add-ons could have been standard on a car with a list price of $108,900. Instead, the buyer will pay $1,100 for the driver assistance package, $1,700 for the driver assistance pro package, $850 for the comfort seating (including front and rear heated seats), $3,400 for the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, and $4,100 for the M Carbon exterior package. Hence the sticker shock.
Still, if I owned this BMW I’d probably gradually forget about its effect on my checkbook and just enjoy the ride—and the heated console. Did I mention that the speakers light up? I’ve seldom encountered a more capable and enjoyable car, up for any kind of duty.
Did I have any caveats? Not worth mentioning. And on today’s sometimes finicky cars, that’s saying something. An open question, of course, is the M850i’s reliability, since it’s carrying so much state-of-the-art technology.
