I had the pleasure of driving @madboss_la’s BMW M850i Cabriolet, and what a car it is. The M850i is powered by a twin turbocharged 4.4 Liter V8 making 523 horsepower and 553 lb/ft of torque pushed through BMW’s X drive system. It shoots to 60 in just 3.3 seconds. That’s supercar territory; this isn’t any grand tourer. The cabriolet is quite heavy, weighing in at 4,736 pounds. To compare, my Porsche Cayenne weighs 4,800 pounds. It’s one heavy grand tourer.
For its weight however, that car can pick up speed. You put the pedal to the metal and it moves so fast that it’ll reach 80 miles per hour before you even peek at the speedometer. The M850i is a very menacing car, especially in residential areas. Once you put it in sport mode, BMW’s “war sound effects” are released through that baritone exhaust system, making pops and bangs and scaring everyone in your sight. My only pet peeve about this car is that, on a hot day, the fan is louder than any noise the car can make.
Spartak, the owner of this car, has had a couple of issues with the car in the short span of his ownership. Already, the seat mechanism has stopped working and the key won’t connect. For a brand new car, you wouldn’t really expect these problems. Because of this, he’s looking at upgrading to an AMG GTS. Make sure to leave a comment down below of your choice! Would you prefer an M850i Cabriolet or an AMG GTS?
The handling of this car is satisfactory. Because of its grand touring nature and the M parts, there are some areas of the car which excel in performance, and some areas that excel in comfort. The steering in this car is on the comfort side. Even in its most stiff setting, it’s a very weak and disconnected steering wheel meant for long drives through European mountains. The seats are also on the comfortable side as well, with some bolstering. It’s not a bucket seat and it was never meant to be.
Overall, I feel like BMW brought its A game with the 8 series. They’ve revived the nameplate with a 523 horsepower bang. Sure, it doesn’t have the old 8’s signature V12, but I would say the 4.4 Liter V8 is more than enough for this beast of a car. A huge thank you to Spartak for letting me drive his car, I really enjoyed it.
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