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BMW's 8 Series Gran Coupe is both a stylised saloon and a coupe with a little extra versatility. There's nothing quite like it. Jonathan Crouch reports.
Ten Second Review
BMW may not have invented the idea of a premium four-door executive coupe but it could certainly be argued that they've perfected it with this car, the 8 Series Gran Coupe. Elegant, beautifully finished and impressively efficient, it's a desirable choice if you need something dynamically luxurious with four seats but have out-grown a full-sized Executive saloon and don't want anything limo-like.
Background
So you want a luxury saloon. The thing is though, you don't want a boring one. One day perhaps, the time might be right for you to get something like a BMW 7 Series, a Mercedes S-Class or an Audi A8. For now though, you'd like something just as smart and luxurious but more individual and dynamic. Something, perhaps, like this, BMW's 8 Series Gran Coupe.
This Gran Coupe is a lengthened four-door version of BMW's more conventional two-door 8 Series Coupe and was first announced back in 2012 badged as a '6 Series Gran Coupe' to plug an important gap in the Munich maker's luxury line-up. Buyers who'd out-grown the brand's 5 Series Executive saloon and didn't want to go on into something limo-like were being lost to a new breed of more style-conscious Luxury segment models - cars like Mercedes' CLS-Class, Audi's A7 Sportback and Porsche's Panamera. Targeting these people is still the brief for this four-door 8 Series model. How effectively has it been executed? Let's find out.
Driving Experience
Four 8 Series Gran Coupe engines are on offer, the range kicking off with the 340hp 840i sDrive petrol version we tried, the only one featuring rear wheel drive. The other three variants all feature xDrive 4WD as standard. There's an 840d diesel derivative, which uses the brand's familiar 3.0-litre six-cylinder in-line diesel and delivers a maximum output of 320hp, with prodigious peak torque of 680Nm. Above that sit two 'M'-badged variants, with the one most will probably choose being the M850i derivative, which uses a 530hp version of the 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 you'll find in the brand's M5 super saloon. An M Sport exhaust delivers a snarly soundtrack, there's 750Nm of torque and 62mph from rest takes just 3.7s. If that's somehow not fast enough, you'll want to talk to your dealer about the even quicker M8 Competition model, which has the same 4.4-litre petrol V8 tuned up to 625hp, in which form it delivers 750Nm of torque. That flagship variant is capable of 62mph from rest in just 3.2s.
Across the range, there are the usual 'Driving Experience Control' modes - 'Eco', 'Comfort', 'Sport' and 'Sport+'. For a more focussed and sporty handling, Integral Active Steering is fitted as standard to reduce the turning circle when manoeuvring. This also increases agility at moderate speeds and optimises poise and assurance when changing lanes and cornering at high speeds. It becomes more direct as the speed builds but allows the driver to manoeuvre at low speeds with minimal steering wheel movement. Optional active roll stabilisation further enhances the handling characteristics. Electric swivel motors on the front and rear axles ensure particularly fast and precise compensation of lateral forces.
Design and Build
The style of this 8 Series Gran Coupe is very similar to that of its Coupe and Convertible showroom stablemates, but it has a wheelbase that's 201mm longer in order to incorporate a couple of extra rear doors. Unlike obvious segment 'Grand Turismo'-style rivals like the Porsche Panamera and the Audi A7 Sportback (but like its closest competitor the Mercedes CLS), this BMW has a traditional notchback boot rather than a hatchback.
As in other 8 Series models, the interior is awash with high-precision details and features a driver-centric cockpit and low-set sports seats featuring integral head restraints and trimmed in soft Merino leather. Despite the coupe-style pretensions here, this is a proper four-seater; there's certainly adequate head and legroom in the rear, even for loftier adults. The boot meanwhile (which has a high lip) is big enough for a quartet of adults too, being 440-litres in size (90-litres less than you'd get in a 5 Series saloon if you're wondering). Larger objects like skis can be dealt with by a through-loading hatch. If you need more room, then releasing a pair of neat boot sidewall catches flattens the rear seatbacks, a standard feature that can free up considerably more cargo space.
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