2019 BMW M850i Review
2019 BMW M850i
MSRP: $122,395
Engine: 4.4 Twin Turbo V8
Horsepower/Torque: 523/553
0-60: 3.8 Seconds
Text: Yousef Alvi // Photography: Geoff Dennis
This is the 2019 BMW M850i xDrive…convertible. It’s a mouthful, but where it fails in being overtly verbose it delivers in performance and yes value in spades. Let me explain.
Grand Tourers are a special breed of automobile. One that is supposed to take your breathe away with its timeless elegance while delivering cross-continental comfort on a bed of horsepower and handling. It's a hard proposition to pull off and thusly are reserved for the upper echelon of the automotive market. Makes like Aston Martin and Bentley come to mind when thinking of the ultimate Grand Tourer but can BMW take those giants on at a fraction of the price? Let’s see.
The new M850i is slathered in horsepower, luxury, looks and technology. Let’s focus on the looks first. A GT car is supposed instill a sense of style and substance that is akin to a Jaeger LeCoulter timepiece. Timeless and elegant while oozing power and poise. Does the M850i live up to those lofty ambitions? Absolutely. The M850i is not just one of the best looking BMWs on the road today…i believe it’s one of the best looking BMWs ever made.
Powered by a twin turbo 4.4 liter V8 making 523 horsepower and 553 ft/lbs of torque. The 8 series rockets to 60 in 3.8 seconds and smashes the 1/4 mile in 11.9 seconds….it matches or even beats the performance set by it’s much more pricier peers. All the power is accompanied by one of the finest sounds on the road today. The N63 motor is a jewel in aural delights, delivering pops/crackles in sport mode along with mechanical rage at redline. When the time comes to be mature the engine responds as well. It’s smooth as silk around town while delivering a gentle soothing rumble at city speeds.
On the luxury and technology front the M850i doesn’t disappoint. The interior is slathered in rich leather, cold aluminum and brilliant ambient lighting. On the tech side the 8 series has all the driving aids you would want, a brilliant B&W sound system and an ingenious EcoPro mode that disengages the transmission upon coasting. The only sore point in the whole package are the gauges. The speedometer and tachometer are bordering on illegilablity. The electronic ‘needles’ and the font are too small to decipher and at speed, there are constant distraction. The saving grace is a HUD that is good that you never really need to look at the gauges anyway.
So what do I think of the 2019 BMW M850i? Considering the bang for the buck it delivers… the 2019 BMW M850i is the ultimate GT car.
