2020 BMW 840i Basks In The Glow of Great Tradition

When my most fashion forward school buddy Mike Bates wowed our crowd with his BMW 2002 back in 1978, the Bavarian legend was only a blip on the American automotive landscape.

By the go-go 80s the brand exploded making the 3, 5 and 7 Series luxury sport sedans the rolling stock of the social climber set. These were also the formative years for unicorn of the thoroughbred stable, the BMW 850 V8 or V12 powered super coupe that ran for nearly a decade until 1999.

The current 8 Series was resurrected in 2018 with two-door Coupe, a convertible, and the latest 2020 four door 840i Gran Coupe.
This car is a glorious expression of the BMW tradition in a stealth low-slung profile, with regal interior amenities and the advanced XDrive AWD and handling stability system, harnessing the substantial heft of a new 3 liter inline 6 cylinder turbocharged 335 horsepower engine. In a M850i edition a 4.4 liter V8 kicks out a thundering 523 horses.

Adornment is spare in this $100,000 ride but supple multi-function front bucket seats and a sports car inspired cockpit cluster fires up competitive spirit.