[M3/4/8]

So my 16 yo daughter (who sat in the back seat of my E46/92 M3 Coupes and my current F82 M4 on many school runs over the years) is driving our X3 now, so I am free to buy a true impractical sports car. If you had asked me back in 2020, my expected choice in the fall of 2023 would have been a spicy Porsche 911 variant or a C8 Z06. What I didn’t foresee was that as we get closer to the sunset date of dinosaur juice drinkers that buyers would come out of the woodwork to buy up all the sporty ICE prior to everything going EV. The list cost of 911’s have gone crazy since 2019 - if I build what I would like currently I am over 200k USD. Oh, and stand in line for that as prices continue to climb. Corvette Z06 list prices are reasonable, but who’s paying list without a staggering ADM or a lightly used flip that equals the ADM? If you set 150k USD as the budget, what’s the best sporty 2 door coupe on the market in 2023? Oh, and it HAS to be a coupe - I’m 6’2” and I love coupe door access - and not hitting a sedan B-Pillar on ingress/egress.

Not trying to get banned from a BMW Forum when I’ve bought 4 M cars (2 Euro Delivery), but the nose of the G82 is a personal no-go. If it has to be specced in black to disguise it, it’s not a good design. I would not post that on the G82 board to be civil, but I am not a fan of putting a bisected Audi grill on a BMW. The height of the grill (to my eye) makes the G82 look like a F34 Grand Turismo with 2 doors. That’s not a compliment. If I still had to have a coupe with a credible back seat now, however, I’m sure a BSM M4 CC with X-Drive would be getting loaded on the ship in Bremerhaven now instead of a MBB M8.

When my wife and I went in to order the X3 in March, I saw an M8 in the showroom and kinda fell in love. I remembered looking at it in 2019 during launch and thinking it was too expensive - I would get a 911 for that money. Then I started digging in. Spent a LOT of time lurking here. Going back to the internet video reviews. The market has changed quite a bit since this was introduced, but if anything my ordered build is cheaper than when I first specced a Comp Coupe on the configurator in 2019. That’s without taking into account post-Covid USD inflation.

Twin-turbo V8 with laughter inducing power and X-Drive to control it. Beautiful looks. A 2024 (with buttons!) before i-drive 8 kicks in. I know Chris Harris/Joe Achilles and the rest of the British motoring press have done their level best to kill the model, but what other manufacturer has it’s sporty coupes price shopped against the sedans? Since I placed my order, the AMG GT was announced with much fanfare (and it is a looker), but does anyone say “why not get the E63 Performance for much less?” I know that the marketing crew at M should have insisted upon an engine tune bespoke from the M5, but regardless this is a ludicrous V8.

I know it’s heavy. I get that there is no manual option - although in an 8 speed methinks the constant shifting of a manual would get old. It’s not perfect, but I don’t intend to track (or airstrip runnout) it frequently. Can’t be burning through tires and rotors when there’s a power boat in the household to maintain. I guess that means I’m older and have other interests. And that someday soon I need to be smart and conserve enough cash to actually retire and enjoy it all. Alas, it never would have worked out for us Turbo S!

Thanks for all those who regularly contribute to this forum. That includes the 840/850 crew. If BMW didn’t have the ability to leverage series production, there would be no M8. Or it would cost even more than 911’s do today.

Pics when it arrives. Again, heartfelt thanks to the 8 Series Forum members for all the posts and pictures!

[Karth]

Hey I think you are making a good call, the m8c/m850 are definitely beautiful cars. I have had a similar struggle between the g8x m3/4 & amg e63 & 8 series, I went for 8 series and I don't regret it a single bit. Enjoy your new ride when it arrives.

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by M3/4/8

Not trying to get banned from a BMW Forum when I’ve bought 4 M cars (2 Euro Delivery), but the nose of the G82 is a personal no-go. If it has to be specced in black to disguise it, it’s not a good design. I would not post that on the G82 board to be civil, but I am not a fan of putting a bisected Audi grill on a BMW. The height of the grill (to my eye) makes the G82 look like a F34 Grand Turismo with 2 doors. That’s not a compliment. If I still had to have a coupe with a credible back seat now, however, I’m sure a BSM M4 CC with X-Drive would be getting loaded on the ship in Bremerhaven now instead of a MBB M8.

No need to defend choosing an M8, especially on this forum!! And many of us turned to something different after the pricing and queue times for the 911 got out of control. I chose the M8 first and then moved on to the M4. Compromises everywhere, but at the end of the day, I chose the M4's driving dynamics over all the great stuff of the M8.

In terms of the M4's nose, there's no one on that forum that would take offense at your opinions. They're shared by many. I despised the grille when it was first introduced on the standard 4. But the M4's grille is more acceptable to my eye because it shed the standard 4's horrible thick chrome frame which acerbated its shape. I think the M's frameless grille has a nice contemporary look, and with the right color and living with it for a bit - god help me - I've actually grown to like it.

But I'm not trying to convert anybody. Especially on the 8 forum!

[MDRIVERONE]

Love the M4 grill compared to other Ms I can definitely notice them heading my way!

[M3/4/8]

Karth - Thanks for the ecouragement. I’m looking forward to delivery, and the great thing is I’m keeping the F82 in the Carolinas. Second home is in upstate SC. Driving my manual over to the Chatooga for a day of whitewater will be epic.

Hinckley - I followed your posts moving from 8 to 4 and get it. My personal opinion is that somewhere north of 3,500 lbs that heavy is heavy and I’ll take the HP, but I get the siren call of a lighter car. Enjoy that Tanzanite beauty in good health. You have disguised the grill and the hood cut line. I took a similar strategy with my F82. I was not a fan of the base color palette so went individual in 2016 with my Comp Coupe (only to have BMW make it a NC color in 2020). But I’m not bitter :bs: .

Here she is in Tuscany in August 2016. Good times.

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by M3/4/8

You have disguised the grill and the hood cut line. I took a similar strategy with my F82. I was not a fan of the base color palette so went individual in 2016 with my Comp Coupe (only to have BMW make it a NC color in 2020). But I’m not bitter :bs: .

Here she is in Tuscany in August 2016. Good times.

You were a year ahead of me. No disguising Sakhir, though!

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by M3/4/8

My personal opinion is that somewhere north of 3,500 lbs that heavy is heavy and I’ll take the HP, but I get the siren call of a lighter car.

I meant to comment on this in my last post. The impact of weight and weight distribution on driving dynamics is something that Porsche understands better than any other mainstream manufacturer imo. I think it was Ferdinand himself that said no amount of horsepower can overcome weight. Not necessarily in straight-line acceleration, but in everything else that matters - steering, roll and braking.