1996 BMW 8 Series Review

BMW's stylish 8-Series sport coupe never really has caught on in this country since it debuted as a 1991 model. Still, it's one of the closest things to a private jet you can put on the road.

Perhaps this BMW is too conservative-looking for the money--or not enough wealthy folks place it in the same league as the rival Mercedes-Benz SL models, which it stacks up well against.

The 1996 version of the coupe is the $74,400 BMW 840Ci, which has a larger (4.4-liter), 32-valve V-8 that produces 282 horsepower and is one of the world's smoothest, quietest engines. A 322-horsepower V-12 version also is offered for $93,360, but it's for high rollers who want to say they've got a 12-cylinder car; for the extra bucks, the 850Ci, as it's called, just doesn't generate appreciably better performance than the V-8 model.

The 4,167-pound 840Ci feels as if carved from a block of granite. It's no sports car, but is a fast, comfortable GT (grand touring) car in the best 1960s European GT tradition; such autos included Aston Martins and Ferraris and were meant for fast, safe trips between European countries and cities.

Actually, European roads have become so crowded that one is likely better off these days with an 840Ci in a high-speed-limit U.S. state.

This heavyweight BMW cossets occupants in a sumptuous wood-and-leather interior with everything from power heated front seats to automatic climate control with dual controls. There's also a 12-speaker AM/FM/cassette, power sunroof and a tiny split-folding rear seat that's best left to small children or pets--or to enlarge the cargo area.

The 840Ci is so well-equipped that the only option is $1,250 forged alloy wheels. Among standard items is a traction control system, which the powerful, rear-wheel-drive car sometimes needs on slippery winter roads.

The steering is precise, and huge brakes with a standard anti-lock system stop the 840Ci very handily. Handling is good, but you always can feel the weight and wouldn't want to throw this car around as you would a Mazda Miata.

Although big and heavy, this is a very fast car. It hits 60 m.p.h. in a few blinks of an eye and continues accelerating like a runaway locomotive way beyond legal highway speeds--all the way to a reported, electronically limited 155 m.p.h. Still, the 840Ci is docile enough for your grandmother to take to the local 7-Eleven for a quart of milk.

However, you won't want to make too many short trips to a store because city economy only is an estimated 14 m.p.g. Highway economy is rated at 20, but I found that the car's slick five-speed automatic overdrive transmission delivers about 23 miles per gallon at a steady 65 m.p.h.

The unusual automatic has BMW's Adaptive Transmission Control, which selects various shift modes automatically to suit such things as a driver's motoring style. The transmission also has BMW's Steptronic manual control system, which allows a driver to easily execute clutchless manual shifts.

You would expect no less from a land-bound private jet.