Over the past few weeks, we’ve been trying to remind BMW fans and car enthusiasts alike that the BMW M850i is a sporty grand tourer and not some purist driver’s car. Despite our best efforts, it seems as if the message is not getting through and we consistently see complains throughout the interwebs of the M850i’s lack of steering feel and driver engagement and blah, blah, blah. Yet, it seems as if the trio at The Grand Tour have the right idea and decide to take the big 8er on, well, a grand tour.
In the coming episode set to debut at the end of this week, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will take three fuel-sucking grand tourers on a 1,000 mile grand tour from the Black Sea in Georgia to the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan. The three cars they will be using are the Aston Martin DB11, Bentley Continental GT and, you guessed it, the BMW M850i.
This is exactly the sort of thing the BMW M850i is built for. Sure, its 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8, with its 523 hp, is built for speed but its comfy suspension and all-wheel drive grip mean that its speed should mostly be in a straight line. But like any proper sporty GT, when the road gets twisty, it’s no slouch either. It should fit in well.
Judging by the trailer, it seems as if James May will be driving the Bimmer, while Clarkson drives the DB11 and Hammond drives the Bentley. This makes sense, though, as May likes BMWs and Clarkson likes Aston Martins.
It seems like it’s going to be a great episode and reminds me of all of the classic road trip episodes of the original Top Gear. Three stunning GT cars, some beautiful scenery and a ton of hilarious shenanigans.
James and Richard criticised the design of it with Jeremy even saying that it looks like a Toyota (WTF?!). It was the slowest car around the track in Georgia, but that’s probably because it was being driven by James May who also finished last in the “real world race” where the BMW, Bentley and Aston were all beaten by an ancient Renault 9 (That’s the Renault Alliance in America) driven by Abbie Eaton, the TGT racing driver. The M850i shone in the drag race in a very wet street in Baku, Azerbaijan. It totally destroyed the more powerful Bentley and the Aston Martin DBS didn’t stand a chance, because it span out of control all the time. In the end Jeremy agreed with Richard that the Bentley Continental GT was a better car than the AM DBS, but James still maintained that preferred the BMW M850i.
Considering the very wet conditions – I doubt the BMW would have beaten the Aston in the drag race
on a dry road….3.2 seconds vs 3.6 performance stats.
It’s a nice car – but not mostly hand made and that special feel that the Bentley would have as well.
It didn’t “totally destroy” the Bentley – though It was impressive in the race…..no Bentleys are drag racers.
It’s a very strange comparo – since anyone shopping the AM and Bentley are most likely not shopping for the Bimmer ….simply because of price, interiors, craftsmanship, exclusivity etc..
I’ve driven the Lexus LC500 for 3 days straight – and it sounds wonderful, has a unique interior and looks STUNNING compared to the BMW.
When the LC500 F comes out – I want to see the comparison with the Bavarian.
In the dry, there’s no doubt the Aston would have won. But that’s an advantage of the M850i — it’s quick in all conditions. However, it’s very impressive that it beat the Bentley, which has a much larger engine and much more power/torque.
Also, I had a Lexus LC500 for a week and I promise the BMW M850i much better to drive. The Lexus is a great car and its engine is absolutely brilliant, no two ways about it, and it sounds better than the 8er’s but if I’m picking a car to actually drive, I’m taking the Bimmer.