Topless German turns heads
YEARS AGO, when I first started road testing cars I would often be stopped by the boys in blue if I was driving something exotic.
No, it wasn’t because I was driving at naughty speeds – perish the thought – it was simply because they wanted to have a look at the car.
This hadn’t happened to me for years until recently, when I was ambling through the lanes of Berkshire with the roof down on a BMW M240i.
The traffic patrol officer who stopped me was interested only in the car, because it was the first one he had seen close up. He was very taken with it – and so was I.
The M240 is the range topper for the convertible, with no less than 335bhp from a silky smooth 3.0-litre straight six turbo, which delivers the most awesome performance from just about any speed.
The car came with BMW’s £1,500 eight-speed automatic gearbox and that seems absolutely right at this level.
Comfort is very good over reasonably surfaced roads but it was more lumpy on poor back roads.
The whole car has that real BMW feel, with marvellous steering, superb electronics to save you when you make a mistake and tremendously driver-focussed handling.
The balance is a delight and the grip and handling are almost unbelievable, backed up by intuitive steering and stupendous brakes.
The electric hood is reasonably quick up and down and, when it’s down, the heating system is more than man enough to keep front occupants at least snug and warm, with an excellent built-in wind deflector.
Standard equipment is very good, as it should be at this exalted level, with parking sensors, alloys, Bluetooth, USB and aux-in, DAB radio and a six-inch screen for controlling most functions as well as the sat nav.
The M240i is quite superb. I wish, oh how I wish...
The BMW M240i I drove costs £40,465.