BMW M850i xDrive Coupé: Built for adrenaline
The BMW M850i xDrive harks back to the brand's long history with sport coupés. (Photo: Rory Daley)

Nestled away, during the recent launch of the BMW XM, was the BMW M850i xDrive Coupé, the M Performance version of the brand's top sports coupé. For sheer size and presence it couldn't compete with the massive, aggressively styled XM, but the M850i has different goals in mind, with its blend of sports and luxury car.

The Sanremo Green metallic M850i is the quintessential BMW coupé, a low slung roofline for the luxurious cabin with a long bonnet hiding a powerful engine. Powering the M850i is 4.4-litre twin turbocharged V8 making 530bhp and 553lb/ft of torque. All this grunt makes its way through a fast-shifting, eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and BMW's all-wheel drive xDrive system to the sticky 20-inch wheel and tyre package. Behind them are M sport brakes. For extra agility at low and high speeds there is rear-wheel steer, adaptive M suspension, and an M sport differential.

All that power and traction moves the M850i to 60mph in 3.8 seconds on its way to a top speed north of 155mph.

The exterior gets the M treatment with M aero garnished all around. The interior belies the sporty nature of the outside. It's pure luxury and technology; from the handfuls of high quality leather covering every major surface to the liberal use of carbon fibre and metal accents. Then there's the smaller elements that stand out, such as the crystal components used on various controls, or CraftedClarity as BMW terms it. BMW Live Cockpit Professional and a 12.3-inch central infotainment screen are the tech centres of the vehicle, running all the automated and powered functions from the basic lights and wipers to self-parking to name a few of the numerous features available.

At a hair over $38 million the BMW M850i xDrive Coupé is super car performance with luxury car civility.

The M850i xDrive offers super car performance for a more earthly price. (Photo: Rory Daley)
The interior is standard BMW luxury and technology.(Photo: Rory Daley)
The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet is very potent. (Photo: Rory Daley)
BY RORY DALEY Auto writer

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