About 20 years ago, BMW stopped production of the E31 BMW 8 series. Today, at what happens to be the world’s most awaited race of the year, BMW revealed the M850i xDrive. BMW certainly knows how to make an appearance because, well, who wouldn’t want to buy the M850i after watching the track-only M8 GTE race at the 24 Hours of LeMans? As you will learn later in the article, the new 8 series has some very big goals indeed. Although it will be based and built alongside the 7 series, do not question it’s “M-Performance” abilities. 

The M850i is supposed to be the most important car for BMW as of now, for the 8 series will be setting the benchmark for all of the upcoming BMW cars in terms of design and engineering. BMW likes to call this “The 8” in which the ‘8’ shows that this car will be at the top of ladder, acting as a symbol for a “High-ranking status” in the entire BMW fleet, says BMW. Most of you might be thinking that the 7 series still holds the flagship title, however, BMW has stated that the new 8-series will be performance focused, while at the same time outdoing the levels of luxury in the 7 series sedan. So to think about it, imagine yourself in a car that drives like a brutal M4 with the comforts and luxury of a 7 series without any compromise and a perfect blend between the two combined. This means that it is highly possible for the 8 series to take the flagship title from the 7 series. On that note, let’s not forget that the Mercedes S63 and S65 AMG coupe will most likely compete with the 8 series considering that those cars too, are a part of the flagship models so it’d be quite interesting to see a battle between the two. 

The interior of the M850i xDrive has been crafted to it’s best ever interior seen in a BMW. It now features a very aggressive full digital screen along with a secondary screen that blends in well with the rest of the interior. The most attention catching detail on the interior is a crystal-bodied shift lever with the number 8 at the bottom of the crystal, alongside this crystal are some performance focused buttons that make the car go from a comfortable BMW to a high M performance car. The 8 series features M pedals, an M steering wheel and illuminated doors sills the read “M850i” along with an anthracite headliner and contrast stitching all around the leather in the interior. Oh and not to mention, Merino leather-clad M sport seats that also come as standard. 

Moving over to the numbers of the M850i, the new model will feature a next generation 4.4 litre, twin-turbo V8 that pushes out 523 horses and 553 pound-feet torque. The 3.6 seconds it takes to go from 0-60 is quite impressive considering it weighs a whopping 2,029 Kgs. BMW has aimed to make the 8 series the best driving car on the market. In order to achieve this BMW has provided active steering as standard along double-wishbone front suspension with five-link rear suspension specifically for the 8-Series. As the auto industry heads toward autonomous driving, it seems that BMW had made the most out of the 8 series in every aspect by providing the BMW’s Assistant Professional, which gives the 8 series some autonomous driving ability. Cruise control and active lane keeping assist are also standard. The M850i xDrive rear wheel steering and vectoring, meaning that the car can be tight and crisp on the corners or it could send 100% of the power to the rear wheels for some sideways action. The car will be made using BMW’s carbon-core materials and aluminium on the doors and the roof along with an optional carbon package. The carbon core materials increase the rigidity of the car and also add to the thrilling driving experience BMW hopes to achieve.

The M850i xDrive will roll out of deanships around November this year. Although pricing hasn’t been announced it is well expected to be in the $100,000 range for the starting price. Assuming that the M850i starts at 100K it’d be quite interesting to see how Mercedes would respond considering that the M850i will most likely outdo the much more expensive S63 AMG. Sadly, with the introduction of the 8 series the 6 series will not be going into production anymore. However, as the 6 series enters its final months, we will be seeing some very interesting 8 series action soon enough.