RE: BMW M8 Competition | Driven (on road)

[chelme]

"BMW M8 Also Ran" is a description more apt here.

[hyphen]

RSbandit said:

I could only laugh when I saw the price...why on earth you'd have this over an Aston or Bentley is beyond me.

Suppose some may want to attract less attention, and to many BMWs will all look the same. In the same way the most expensive Range Rover version would blend in anywhere but a Bentayga wouldn't.

[BFleming]

I've never even seen a new Vantage. OK I'm down to not-a-lot of annual mileage, and the mileage I do is done in infrequent yet long journeys, but I've literally not seen one new Vantage since they were launched. The new Bentley Continental is popular by comparison (around here at least), R8's are everyday fodder, and the devalued AMG badge is everywhere. There are even a few of the new 8 series knocking about. But the Vantage... nothing.

[okenemem]

LOVELY LOOKING THING

[robsprocket]

I was just thinking the other day, 'if only BMW made a bigger, fatter Mustang for only £140k with options'. Perfect.

[jontysafe]

hyphen said:

RSbandit said:

I could only laugh when I saw the price...why on earth you'd have this over an Aston or Bentley is beyond me.

Suppose some may want to attract less attention, and to many BMWs will all look the same. In the same way the most expensive Range Rover version would blend in anywhere but a Bentayga wouldn't.

This. I bought an M6 Convertible as it is under radar and I could turn up to clients in it. I'd have been laughed out in a Bentley or Aston.

[J4CKO]

Does have shades of Mustang in the side profile and is definitely the best looking BMW you can buy currently, which to be fair is a low bar of late.

I cant see many folk arriving at the BMW Main Dealers and handing over 140 grand for one of these despite it being fast and posh, its just not separate enough in that price range which is in the foothills of the proper posh stuffs price ranges.

I bet it will end up on some pretty competitive deals (for a 600 odd bhp techno lux fest) and a few will be driven by BMW high ups and find their way onto the forecourts as approved used at 80/90 grand within a year.

Some good value with the previous models, chap I know got a 640d and its a fine thing, think its a bit of a buyers market for stuff like that.

[mnk303]

It's a stunning car in the flesh but having just brought a used m5 I think you get 80% of this car for a third of its price. However its stunning

[anonymous-user]

I just can't decide if this is a good looking car or not?

It's not ugly exactly, nor handsome, it's a bit awkward from certain angles, but the proportions work for others, it deffinitely looks better when view with "widescreen" eyes in the real world, rather through a narrow lens in a fixed context. Perhaps it's just a bit "try hard" compared to previous big BMWs that have been a bit more laid back & relaxed with their styling?

[rare6499]

BFleming said:

rare6499 said:

Not sure I could stomach paying £140k for a car with the same badge on a FWD mpv.

Even though Mercedes has done the exact same thing?
VW tried to break into the bigtime with the Touareg & Phaeton in 2003, and failed miserable (with the Phaeton at least). Seems the badge was possibly the biggest hinderance to the success of that car. BMW and Mercedes, on the other hand, are premium brands that have taken a chunk of sales out of the Golf/Touran class whilst maintaining their foothold as a premium brand. The badge doesn't hurt low down as long as you're starting high.

I think Mercedes get away with it because they have existed in this space for longer and in a more genuine way than BMW has for some time. BMW only recently recognised that they started to dilute their own brand. But Mercedes has a long history of existing in this upper price segment in a more competitive way than BMW. IMO!

[NickGRhodes]

The front seems a little bulbous compared to the rear. It's almost a good looking car IMHO. Seems like a decent car on its own, but some stiff competition.

[Tim bo]

PhilboSE said:

Don't understand this statement "The starting price of £123,435 is more or less in line with a well-specced 992 Carrera".

The 992 Carrera starts at £82,793. So the article is saying that the starting price of the BMW, without any options, is in line with a 992 Carrera with £40,000 worth of options. What is that even trying to tell me?

Even if you go to the 992 C4S you would need to stick £25,000 of options on the thing for it to be a similar price to a base BMW 8. Basically they're not comparable at all on price, I don't know why the author even tried to make that point.

Well, porkers are notoriously under-specced as standard, and also come with a whopping amount of specs you can tag-on, all of which are pricey. You need to spend £20k just to get it to a reasonable standard spec, and can easily spend another £40-£60k on top of that.
Heck I bought a new 718CS a while ago, so not even the more pricey 911, and still spent an additional £20k on pretty basic options.

I suspect a boggo 992 specced up to £123k would have a similar amount of spec to the M8. Therefore there is a little validity to the author's comment.

[PhilboSE]

Tim bo said:

PhilboSE said:

Don't understand this statement "The starting price of £123,435 is more or less in line with a well-specced 992 Carrera".

The 992 Carrera starts at £82,793. So the article is saying that the starting price of the BMW, without any options, is in line with a 992 Carrera with £40,000 worth of options. What is that even trying to tell me?

Even if you go to the 992 C4S you would need to stick £25,000 of options on the thing for it to be a similar price to a base BMW 8. Basically they're not comparable at all on price, I don't know why the author even tried to make that point.

Well, porkers are notoriously under-specced as standard, and also come with a whopping amount of specs you can tag-on, all of which are pricey. You need to spend £20k just to get it to a reasonable standard spec, and can easily spend another £40-£60k on top of that.
Heck I bought a new 718CS a while ago, so not even the more pricey 911, and still spent an additional £20k on pretty basic options.

I suspect a boggo 992 specced up to £123k would have a similar amount of spec to the M8. Therefore there is a little validity to the author's comment.

When I bought my 911 C2S I didn't have to add much to it at all - LSD (free), Sport Chrono, Sports seats, rear wiper (!), heated seats, PASM for about £7k I think it was, though that was 12 years ago. Yes there are millions of options but many of them are cosmetic - interior trims, seatbelt colours, stitching, carbon bits etc. In terms of mechanical stuff that you would want, you don't need to spend anything like £40k.

I can't be bothered to do an equipment analysis of the 2 cars but there's no way you need to spend £40k on the 911 to bring it into line with the base model BMW. In any event I don't really see the 2 cars as comparable anyway; the 911 is significantly lighter and has a sportier element to it, and the 8 series is a fast GT. If I was in the market for one of those cars I doubt I would be considering the other. Just seemed a strange comparison for the author to draw to me anyway.

[Dan Trent]

Picking up on the validity of comparisons with the 992 911 range I appreciate it's a bit of a stretch from there to the M8's base £123K price but the last 992 Carrera 4 S press car I tested had a price with options of £116K and there were plenty of boxes that hadn't been ticked, including PDCC. The 911 Turbo, when it comes, will likely be a closer comparison on price and performance but, philosophically, I wanted to make the point the M8 is effectively a bridge between Carrera-level cars and those of the next category up, like the V8 DB11, S63 Coupe and Bentley Continental GT. Given the nature of these cars, the way options can massively skew pricing and the fairly abstract nature of RRPs these days I appreciate the basic comparison may not seem to add up at first glance but the wider point is the M8 is very much landing square in the middle of this sector and would (BMW would hope!) likely be on the same shopping lists as those buying higher-spec 911s.

Hope that clarifies the point somewhat!

Cheers,

DAn

[beanoir]

Tim bo said:

Well, porkers are notoriously under-specced as standard, and also come with a whopping amount of specs you can tag-on, all of which are pricey. You need to spend £20k just to get it to a reasonable standard spec, and can easily spend another £40-£60k on top of that.
Heck I bought a new 718CS a while ago, so not even the more pricey 911, and still spent an additional £20k on pretty basic options.

I suspect a boggo 992 specced up to £123k would have a similar amount of spec to the M8. Therefore there is a little validity to the author's comment.

I think £80k on a 992 options list is a rather spurious claim

[HM-2]

beanoir said:

Tim bo said:

Well, porkers are notoriously under-specced as standard, and also come with a whopping amount of specs you can tag-on, all of which are pricey. You need to spend £20k just to get it to a reasonable standard spec, and can easily spend another £40-£60k on top of that.
Heck I bought a new 718CS a while ago, so not even the more pricey 911, and still spent an additional £20k on pretty basic options.

I suspect a boggo 992 specced up to £123k would have a similar amount of spec to the M8. Therefore there is a little validity to the author's comment.

I think £80k on a 992 options list is a rather spurious claim

It's very easy to spec a 4S up to around £140k once you start throwing on things like the carbon brakes, PCCM and aero kit
In the configurator I got over well over £131k with Aero, 21" Spyder wheels, fancy paint and Individual leather, plus carbon ceramics and PASM/sports exhaust/lift and all the rest. That was before i even started looking at actual electronics/gadgets...

Edited by HM-2 on Monday 16th December 12:11

[1974foggy]

Agree with the comments about Mustang looks and ludicrus price.
Perhaps one of the better looking BMWs at the moment, but that isnt saying much! Some proportions just dont look right like the new Z4.
Plus, when they depreciate in a few years time, they will be near impossible to run as the copious tech fails (once out of warranty) id imagine.

[richinlondon]

BMW have made some really nice looking cars for a while but this 'bad Hollywood nose job' on them at the moment really detracts

[BFleming]

beanoir said:

I think £80k on a 992 options list is a rather spurious claim

A base 992 Carrera retails at £83k. A C4S is £98k. You don't need £80k in options to hit £123k.

[jzakariya]

HM-2 said:

Could the same not be said of almost any mainstream brand?

I think that was exactly the point. For that kind of money one should have a more premium badge on the nose.