M8 Competition – big money, big power

BMW has given us a new grand tourer, replacing the old M6. Called the M8, the Bavarian carmaker reckons it can pull off driving from Paris to Monaco as well as go toe to toe around a racetrack with some of the sharpest sports cars we’ve ever seen. We have it in New Zealand exclusively in its hottest form, suffixed Competition.

THIS IS THE BEST OF THE BEST FROM BMW, THEN?

Yes but don’t call it a supercar. BMW has said many times it isn’t interested in following up the M1 (at the moment), so the M8 is technically a grand tourer, while the Competition variant introduces more power and less weight, as well as other tweaks.

You can think of the M8 as an 8 Series coupe with retuned M5 mechanicals. That means a completely variable four-wheel drive system that can send all its power to the rear wheels, tight, direct steering and a thumping 4.4-litre V8 with two turbochargers attached. As a result, it’s making 460kW and 800Nm, which is quite a lot, even if the whole car weighs two tonnes.

In case you hadn’t noticed yet, it also looks brilliant. Narrow headlights, a chunky grille, huge intake, a long bonnet, slim rear lights above a quartet of exhaust pipe, a carbon-fibre double-bubble roof and 20-inch wheels, the rears sitting under big wide hips.

SOUNDS LIKE A PERFECT GRAND TOURER?

Almost. The M-tuned suspension does a brilliant job of holding the car through long sweeping bends but it doesn’t quite iron out the bumps of Kiwi roads. The seats are comfy enough but can’t offset the stiff adaptive dampers. Without a doubt, this thing would be epic on smooth German autobahns but here? Not so much.

On the flip side, keeping the car in Comfort mode does push the eight-speed automatic to seek out those higher ratios, keeping fuel consumption a surprisingly frugal 10.0L/100km, plus or minus a couple of litres depending on how you decided to reach 100kmh.

There is a quality 16-speaker Bowers and Wilkins stereo setup and BMW’s Driving Assistant Professional is among the best in the driver assist business. Lots of leather keeps you and your one passenger (there are rear seats, but not really usable if you have legs) comfy and happy.

WHAT ABOUT ALL THAT POWER, IS IT THEN A WORTHY SPORTS CAR?

Again, almost. I’m not saying the

BMW M8 COMPETITION

Base price: $332,900

Powertrain and economy: 4.4-litre turbo-petrol V8, 460kW/ 800Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD, combined economy 10.4 L/100km, CO2 239g/km (source: RightCar). Vital statistics: 4867mm long, 2137mm wide, 1362mm high, 2827mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 420 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Prodigious power, great looks, superb drive, fuel consumption relatively decent.

We don’t like: Very expensive, not quite as comfy as a GT should be and not quite as capable as a 911

M8 is slow or not a good car to drive at all – on the contrary, it hoovers back roads like a vacuum cleaner sucks up breadcrumbs.

Most of that is down to the powertrain, that massive V8 up front inhaling anything in front of it and spitting it out of the exhausts about a millisecond later.

The sound it makes is simply epic, you can hear the turbos spooling up from a mile away and the M-spec exhaust gives the engine a thunder that would embarrass even the heartiest of RS cars. It revs above 7000rpm and doesn’t ever feel like its not making power. Drop off the throttle and there’s a pleasing ‘‘whump’’ from the exhausts before you kiss the apex and get back on it. This thing is seriously, seriously fast.

While the suspension isn’t ideally suited for touring, it’s very good at enthusiastic driving. The dampers keep the car level and light on its feet, while the steering is weighted well and nicely direct.

While the transmission is smooth and fast there aren’t any theatrics like what you might get in a Mercedes-AMG. The downshifts just sort of happen, with zero fanfare from the rear end.

Then there’s the big, rearengined elephant in the room. If this is more of a sports car than a grand tourer, is it as good as a Porsche 911? Short answer, no, and the 911 costs a lot less. A Panamera GTS would also give this a good run for its money too, let alone the more expensive Turbo models.

SO WHY WOULD I BUY THIS?

You know the phrase, ‘‘jack of all trades, master of none’’? It goes on to say ‘‘but better than being master of one’’. That’s the M8. It’s a very good grand tourer and a terrifyingly fast sports car, and while it might not be better than, say, the Bentley Continental GT V8 or the Porsche 911 in each of those categories, you’re getting a better sports car than the Conti and a better tourer than the 911.

This is the most expensive, cream of the crop BMW you can buy right now. And maaaate – it’s good.