BMW 850I vs McLaren 720S

What's the difference?

Can a car company show off? It seems absurd; the kind of embarrassing, unedifying behaviour that only ego-driven, status-obsessed human beings engage in. And yet look at BMW’s new 8 Series, with its shinily silly cut-glass gear lever, its laser headlights, its outrageously powerful V8 engine and its bullfrog-but-beautiful stance - surely this is showing off on a corporate scale?

To be fair, when a car company makes a new range-topper - and BMW only applies the number 8 to its most special vehicles, think Z8 and i8 - it really is about making a kind of look-at-me statement. 

A car as obviously ostentatious as the M850i xDrive Coupe (and Convertible) has to appeal to buyers, even if it’s only a small and wealthy target market. And there is plenty that’s appealing about this old-fashioned yet modern-looking grand tourer, from the incredible way it accelerates to its luxuriant ride quality and decadent interior.

It would want to be impressive, of course, with a price tag of $272,900 (or $9000 more for the Convertible).

So, has the new 8 Series BMW got what it takes to separate the very rich from their hard-earned megabucks? We donned our shiniest shoes and went to the launch to find out.

Years ago, McLaren wasn't really making McLarens. The ill-fated SLR was still in production, but was an oddity that made little sense - it was a highly specialised Mercedes and built to sell for crazy money to mega-rich F1 fans. Production was down to a trickle,and  the iconic and legendary F1 had completed its run a decade earlier.

The "new" McLaren Automotive had a shaky start in 2011 with the unloved MP4-12C, which became the 12C and then morphed into the 650S, getting better with each reinvention. 

The P1 was the car that really grabbed the world's attention and was then-new designer Rob Melville's first project for the British sports car maker. 

Last year, McLaren sold its 10,000th car and production numbers are closing in on Lamborghini's. Sales have almost doubled in Australia and Rob Melville is still there, and is now the Design Director. The company, clearly, has done very, very well.

Now it's come time for McLaren's second generation, starting with the 720S. Replacing the 650S, it's the new Super Series McLaren (fitting in above the Sport Series 540 and 570S and below the Ultimate P1 and still-mysterious BP23), and is a car McLaren claims has no direct competitors  from its rivals at Ferrari or Lamborghini. 

It has a twin-turbo V8, a carbon fibre tub, rear-wheel drive and bristles with cleverness.