CAR WARS! Luxury GT Shakedown: Does The BMW M850i Deserve LAST Place Against The Continental GT, DB11 And LC?

CAR WARS! Luxury GT Shakedown: Does The BMW M850i Deserve LAST Place Against The Continental GT, DB11 And LC?
Wow. That didn't take long.

While BMW M850i owners have started taking delivery and members of the media have been gushing over it, this vehicle is just a big "So what?" to me. It's derivative, doesn't push boundaries and its interior is laughably bad.

In other words, it's nothing at all like the first-gen 8-Series.

But, according to all reports, it drives well. When stacked up against the likes of other luxury grand tourers though, how does it do? In CAR magazine's latest test they stacked the 8'er against the likes of the all-new Aston Martin DB11 AMR, all-new Bentley Continental GT and Lexus LC500.

And the Bimmer placed BEHIND the Lexus. That says a lot, really.

So, I've got to ask: In this showdown from what you read, does the 8-Series really deserve LAST place? What say you, Spies?



Best luxury GT: verdict

First place - Bentley Continental GT
Soothing refinement, wicked turn of speed, exceptional quality, but no trackday hero.

Second place - Aston Martin DB11 AMR
Beautiful design, dramatic V12, thrilling drive. Kneecapped by its winter tyres.

Third place - Lexus LC500
Drives as sharp as it looks, with a fabulous V8. A mini Aston.

Fourth place - BMW M850i
Fast, refined and good to drive, with excellent technology. A mini Conti.


Read Article

Car4life1Car4life1 - 2/25/2019 12:46:14 AM
+2 Boost
no thanks, I’ll take a CPO S Class coupe please


cidflekkencidflekken - 2/25/2019 1:47:37 AM
+1 Boost
Why no S63 Coupe? Very similar in execution to the Conti GT and less expensive.

But I’m less surprised with the last placed M850i than I am the first placed Conti GT.


PUGPROUDPUGPROUD - 2/25/2019 5:49:39 AM
-3 Boost
No. The Conti and Aston are $100k+ more by the time you leave the showroom and the Lexus is not the driving car the 8 is. Could the 8 be better, sure it could but its got its place in the market at a price point.


absentabsent - 2/25/2019 8:17:55 AM
-3 Boost
Lexus is slow, slow, sloooow.
Agree with the order of the verdict except the Toyota's win over BMW.
New Conti is a real masterpiece, blows all the others out of the water in all regards.
S65 Coupe would be comparable in price but Conti runs circles around it with ease.


PUGPROUDPUGPROUD - 2/25/2019 5:10:05 PM
0 Boost
Whenever I have a clear schedule I test drive cars just for fun. Have driven them all. Conti, plusses are its beautifully made and drives great; minuses are its expensive and annual maintenance is $3,000. Aston, plusses, simply gorgeous and lots of options to personalize it; minuses, cramped interior and dynamics didn't seem special. BMW, plusses, fast, great transmission and drives smaller than it is; minuses are no sense of occasion and interior nothing special. Lexus, plusses are distinctive looks, nice interior and normally aspirated engine; minuses are its slow, less dynamic and hit my head getting in.


GermanNutGermanNut - 2/25/2019 9:38:36 AM
+1 Boost
The BMW M850i finishing in last place shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. BMW is trying to deliver a sport-first luxury second coupe to a segment that clearly places luxury first and sport second. It's for this reason the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe has been so successful for decades.

If buyers in this segment wanted a sport-first car, they would simply get a Porsche 911 Turbo or a Ferrari.


dlindlin - 2/25/2019 11:19:18 AM
+1 Boost
Correct. This is not just about 8 series, but the positioning of the whole brand, sandwiched vaguely between Sport and Luxury


dlindlin - 2/25/2019 11:25:04 AM
+2 Boost
Lexus comment, Drives as sharp as it looks, suggests LC500 is the sportiest of the group. Something BMW should be ashamed of not achieving


NewQNewQ - 2/25/2019 10:47:20 PM
+4 Boost
Not surprising. Bentley and Aston at the top are obvious picks (and way more expensive).

I could go either way on the LC500 vs. the 8-Series. The LC looks way better, and has a better interior. The 8 Series is way faster and handles better.

Really, it shows that Aston and Bentley belong in one category, and the LC and 8-Series belong in the other.


HolydudeHolydude - 3/7/2019 12:54:17 PM
+1 Boost
Wonder why they limited the comp to only these 4, there are plenty of other GTs they can throw in
Copyright 2026 AutoSpies.com, LLC