BMW M8 Coupe and 8-series Gran coupe launched in India

BMW has seldom been the favourite German automaker for many. In fact, sometimes it used to out do Porsche even for series super car nerds. I mean the M3 and the M5 were always crowned as THE most fun to drive, fast and agile cars of their segment. Then, Mercedes came along with their bonkers E63 AMG and for the first time, it felt like BMW’s M division had some real competition.

But, in this world that is shifting towards SUV’s, the fun to drive vehicles are getting limited in numbers and those present in abundance, are not really fun to drive! The segment that is also growing along with the SUV’s is the GT one. It’s obviously not as big as SUV’s but almost every luxury automaker offers a Grand Tourer which cocoons you in luxury, has enough practicality for everyday use, looks like a bottle of Caviar and drives like a super car. And no wonder this one is growing because it checks in all the boxes. I was introduced to this segment by the BMW 6-series so when BMW stopped making it, the segment was over for me.

I was seeing strongly capable Bentleys and even Rolls Royces in this segment and I badly wanted BMW to hit back at this one. McLaren had also revealed their plans to build a GT car which is also a part of their recalls currently. Anyway, BMW did hit HARD and I completely fell off my chair when I saw this, the BMW 8-series coupe.

The 8-series is what I call the pinnacle of BMW’s design language. Sharp sleek lines, arrow straight bodywork and flowing designs on the sides. It all sounds like a mixed bag in theory but a certain Chandler Bing would definitely say, “Could it BE anymore beautiful?” The answer would be simply no. I think BMW nailed the design. The concept 8 was painfully beautiful and BMW literally took out every practically possible element of the concept into this car. Kudos!

But, this is not a review for the car. You must have already seen them on Youtube. BMW has now finally launched the 8-series Gran coupe and the M8 in India. The price tag (ex-showroom) are as below:

• BMW 840i Gran Coupe   –     INR 1,29,90,000
• BMW 840i Gran Coupe ‘M Sport’ Edition   –   INR 1,55,00,000
• BMW M8 Coupe   –    INR 2,15,00,000

As you can probably guess, BMW has not launched the M8 Gran coupe in India for some reason. Maybe the demand for it is not expected to be as high? We’re gonna have to take BMW’s word on it because they are selling cars in numbers that exceed Mercedes. Anyway, let’s talk about the cars in depth.

The design – Inside and outside

The Gran coupe has what BMW calls a ‘Dynamic silhouette’ with four frameless doors, a long wheelbase and a coupe-style roofline. This 4-door looks so good that it could shame some supercars. It has quite a sporty interior, driver-focused cockpit, a large roomy cabin and some sports car ambience. The rear seats though comfortable, will definitely affect tall people because of the styylish roofline. There is a large two-part Panaroma glass roof extending seamlessly into the rear.

The interior is totally driver focused and has some sort of sports car vibes. Although, that crystal gear selector and other shiny chrome bits do make it look like a luxurious place as well. There are electrically adjustable Sport Seats that provide a superior grip and dynamic driving position. This experience is extended to all passengers thanks to the single-seat design of the rear seats for the first time. The centre console is wide and steeply ascending yet, has all relevant controls. In the Gran coupe, the luggage compartment has a capacity of 440 ltrs. The 40:20:40 split backrest allows greater flexibility and ease of loading / unloading.

It also comes with a host of features completely factory fit. A host of BMW ConnectedDrive technologies continue to break the innovation barrier in automotive industry – BMW Gesture Control, BMW Head-up Display, BMW Display Key, Wireless Charging, Wireless Apple CarPlay®. The modern cockpit concept BMW Live Cockpit Professional running on latest BMW Operating System 7.0 includes 3D Navigation, a 12.3 inch digital instrument display behind the steering wheel and a 10.25 inch Control Display. Park Assistant Plus with Rear View Camera makes parking in tight spots easier by taking over acceleration, braking as well as steering.

Does it give enough competition to the Merc AMG GT 4-door longest name ever saloon? According to me, it surpasses it. Especially in the rear. I agree the Merc has a much better interior but again, the BMW’s interior is not bad by any margin and I would really mind the exterior looks more than the interiors in a car like this. Both the coupe and the gran coupe have stylised and sleek light clusters that accentuate the ‘sexy’ design language. Thankfully, BMW’s lust for large grilles does not overtake the design of this one.

Engine, roar and transmission prowess

The three-litre six-cylinder in-line petrol engine of the BMW 840i Gran Coupe produces an output of 340 hp and maximum torque of 500 Nm at 1,600 – 4,500 rpm. The car accelerates from 0 -100 km / hr in just 5.2 seconds. BMW’s 8-speed steptronic transmission steps in for smoother power delivery at all times and there is an M sport differential in the M-sport variant.

The M Sport Differential ensures that even with challenging changes of direction or on various surfaces, the engine power is optimally brought to the road. Then of course there is BMW’s Adaptive Suspension which enables individual response behaviour for each wheel at the touch of button. Using the Driving Experience Control, the driver is able to choose between different driving modes to suit the driving conditions (Comfort, Sport, Sport+).

The M8 coupe on the other hand is the main course AND the dessert. It has the M TwinPower Turbo 4-litre 8-cylinder petrol engine is amongst the most powerful V8 engine ever developed by BMW M GmbH for a production vehicle. It produces an output of 600 hp and maximum torque of 750 Nm at 1,800 – 5,600 rpm. The car accelerates from 0 -100 km / hr in just 3.3 seconds. And if THAT doesn’t make you sweat, nothing will.

Safety

I will not bore you with the same rant that every powerful and capable car should also have enough stopping power and safety equipment because car manufacturers know that better than me. They test their cars for several thousand kilometres and I think they’d hardly go scrawny with the safety side of things. BMW Safety technologies include six airbags, Attentiveness Assistance, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) including Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), anti-lock braking system (ABS), electric parking brake with auto hold, side-impact protection, electronic vehicle immobilizer and crash sensor and ISOFIX child seat mounting for the two outer rear seats. Customers can also opt for BMW Night Vision with person recognition.

The Verdict

Obviously I love the 8-series. It offers everything at one place. It is in fact, a logical person’s dream car. The looks, the style, the luxury, features, power, handling and of course, the reliability of a BMW. But it comes with a catch. The price. If you haven’t yet, quickly check out it’s pricing above. Now, the asking price for a 340HP luxury sedan at Rs. 1.13 crores ex-showroom is a bit too steep. It starts at around $109k in the USA which is roughly Rs. 82 lakh while the M8 is $133k i.e. almost Rs. 1 crore. But, that is not my concern. Just like I ranted about the F-Type being overly expensive for what it offers, the 8-series is no less.

Especially considering the BMW 2-series coming soon. If the M-sport variant comes along, that 2-series has the ability to provide enough performance to somewhat equal the 840i. Yes, of course it is much smaller and MUCH less special but well, it costs almost a third of the 840i. Moreover, BMW’s M5 comes in almost at the same price as the 840i and it seriously outdoes this one. It is also quite luxurious and big enough to carry those passengers that you wish to in the 8-series with more comfort. The M8 seems to be a much better option since it offers super car levels of performance but, at that point you are actually quite close to a real supercar so that will be a dilemma for you to solve.