Super NEW BMW
THE Corvette we tested last week is the best car I’ve driven this year…and this week we have the second-best.
The BMW 840i Gran Coupé couldn’t be more different to an American mid-engined supercar but it’s wonderful all the same.
Unfortunately, it’s also expensive. It’s not as much as the Corvette but, at £67,905, it’s well beyond the contents of my piggy bank.
The good news is that cars like this depreciate really quickly and before you can blink they’re under 10 grand.
So, what have we got? The Gran Coupé is based on the equally wonderful 8 Series Coupé but has more rear legroom, a bigger boot and, as you can see, four doors.
Mercedes-Benz invented the fourdoor coupé with its CLS in 2004 and then BMW jumped in on the game in
2012 with its 6-Series Gran Coupé. The car we have today is that model’s logical successor.
The Gran Coupé is cheaper than the two-door car by a couple of grand (more machine for less money, now that’s novel) and this 840i is the cheapest version.
There’s a diesel version called the
840d, a very ballsy M850i with a
523bhp V8. At the top of the range sits the full-house 616bhp M8 Competition for a smidge over
£120,000.
Our 840i is the only model with twowheel drive, which is a bonus because it’s a bit lighter. It’s confusing if you’re not a BMW nerd, but the 840i has a 3.0-litre straight-six engine that produces 335bhp.
It’s the same twin-turbo motor that powers the quickest Z4 and the Toyota Supra. And Morgan’s Plus Six, for that matter.
It’s a lovely engine that in the Gran Coupé makes a wonder
THE latest generation of Mercedes’ smallest crossover, the GLA, has just gone on sale.
There’s a choice of five different engines and six trim levels.
The cheapest version is the GLA200 in Sport trim, which purr. This car is almost an oldschool BMW. If you really like Beemers and have done for decades you’ll probably know what I mean.
It was the era before BMW started making huge ugly SUVs (the X7) and pointless front-wheel drive hatchbacks (the 2 Series Active Tourer).
The only modern addition to the car, and it’s an option so can be deleted, is the rear-wheel steering that our test car is fithas a 1.3-litre petrol engine that produces
163bhp. It’s yours for £32,640.
Other engine options, for the moment, include a
2.0-litre petrol engine with 224bhp and three diesel engines with outputs from 150bhp to 190bhp. There’s a choice of two and four-wheel drive.
Deliveries will start in the summer with more versions being added to the line-up, including a hot AMG model.