BMW 8 Series vs BMW 2 Series

What's the difference?

The right lane on Aussie freeways is occasionally referred to as the ‘fast lane’, which is laughable because the highest legal speed in the entire country is 130km/h (81mph). And that’s only on a few stretches in the Top End. Other than that, 110km/h (68mph) is all you’re getting.

Sure, a 'buck thirty' isn’t hanging around, but the subject of this review is a 460kW (625hp) four-door missile, capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, and on to a maximum velocity somewhat in excess of our legal limit. 

Fact is, the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe is born and bred in Germany, where the autobahn’s left lane is serious territory, with open speed sections, and the car itself the only thing holding you back. In this case, to no less than 305km/h (190mph)!

Which begs the question, isn’t steering this machine onto an Aussie highway like cracking a walnut with a twin-turbo, V8-powered sledgehammer?

Well, yes, But by that logic a whole bunch of high-end, ultra high-performance cars would instantly become surplus to requirements here. Yet they continue to sell, in healthy numbers.  

So, there’s got to be more to it. Time to investigate.

Coupes are back.

Heading into the second half of the 2020s, buyers of affordable sports cars seem better-served for choice than when the current BMW 2 Series Coupe surfaced earlier this decade.

Mazda’s MX-5 keeps gently evolving. Toyota and Subaru have rejuvenated their respective firecracker 86/BRZ twins. The glorious Nissan Z is as evocative as it is entertaining. The recent Ford Mustang revamp serves rousing American muscle car. The reborn Honda Prelude looms as a hybrid hero. And even Audi’s TT is set for resurrection soon.

All reinvigorate the genre. Just like the (G42) 2 Series Coupe, the third in the series since 2007, released during 2021 and facelifted in 2024.

Here we revisit the M240i xDrive, our favourite version (sorry, M2 owners), to see if it remains the definitive brand experience.