Cars

2019 BMW 8 Series has big power, big style

BMW's iconic 8 Series returns with luxury and performance in spades.

Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.

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Steven Ewing

June 15, 2018 10:30 a.m. PT

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Originally previewed in the Concept 8 Series last May, the 2019 BMW 8 Series is a sharp-dressed coupe.

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Under the hood is a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 with 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque.

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The M850i will come with BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

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The only transmission available in the M850i is a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic.

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If you want to drop the center of gravity a smidge, a carbon fiber roof is available.

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Standard equipment includes LED headlights with BMW's LaserLight tech.

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Further bolstering the car's handling cred is a standard adaptive suspension that can adjust damping on the fly, as well as a four-wheel-steering system.