The BMW M8 Gran Coupe is one of the brand’s largest exercises in excess — it’s massive, has enormous power levels, bonkers performance figures, it guzzles more fuel than a 747 and a price tag that, with options can creep higher than I paid for my first two-bedroom condo. However, with all of that excess; power, performance, size and luxury; is the M8 Gran Coupe actually worth that its extraordinary cost?
In this new video, Joe Achilles takes the M8 Gran Coupe through some gorgeous roads in northern Italy and puts it to the test. He drives the BMW M8 Gran Coupe through tight, twisty country roads and a stunning mountain pass to see how it handles and what it can do.
The M8 Gran Coupe has always been an intellectual car, a car that impresses the brain. For its size and heft, its abilities are truly remarkable. Few cars in the history of the automobile can accelerate like the M8 and it can handle with the agility of a much smaller car. The only problem is that it isn’t an exactly an emotional car; one you want to do all of that in.
Because it’s so long and so heavy, driving it quickly, through twisty mountain switchbacks, can actually feel a bit cumbersome. As Achilles points out, you’re always aware of its mass while hustling it and that can, and will, dampen the experience. What Achilles also, and rightly, points out is that you can get all of the power and performance, along with better handling and better seats, from a much cheaper BMW M5 Competition.
The BMW M5 Competition is an 3 Series heaper than the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe and yet is actually a touch faster to 60 mph (less weight) and handles a bit better. So you’re getting the better car for less money. The only real advantage to the bigger, more expensive M8 is its looks, as it is stunning. But if you can live without them, and the M5 is still a great looking car, the smaller, cheaper M sedan is actually the one to get.
