Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-06-17)

70
InanAprilonlinereview,I calledthe 2019 BMWM850ia
“unicorn.”Inmytestofthehardtopcoupe,whichmarksa res-
urrectionofthedefunct-since-the-’90slineof 8 SeriesBMWs,
I found ahandsomechariotthatcheckeda lotofboxes.It’s
zippy, sprintingto 60 mphin3.8secondsandhittinga top
speed of 155.Plus,it sportsanexcellentinfotainmentsystem
and a blissfulamountofstorage.It’scomparabletothebeefy
Bentley ContinentalGTbutabout$100,000lessexpensive.The
review caughtfireonourwebsite,probablybecausesummer
was nearingandpeopleweredreamingaboutdrivingforfun.
It got methinking,What’sevenmorefunthana unicorn?
Here’swhat:A unicornwitha retractablesofttop.
The $121,400BMWM850iconvertibleis justasperfectly
balancedandaggressivelytunedasitsroofedcounterpart
and, withthetopdown,nicertolookat.Atitsbaseprice,it’ll
cost you $9,500more,plusdesirableoptionssuchastheneck
warmingfansandheatedarmreststhatarepartofthe$1,300
comfort seatingpackage.Activeantirollbarsthatpopoutin
the case ofa collisionare—blessedly—standard.BMWhascome
a long wayinmakingsafetya given,nota splurge.
One standarditemI wishwereoptionalis the“Display”key,
a palm-sizetouchscreenobeliskusedtostartthecarbutalso
to view thestatusofthingslikewindowsandlocks,seta time
toturnontheheater,orcheckthetirepressure.It feelslikea
secondphone—andcosts$606toreplaceif (when)youloseit.
Theconvertibleweighs 258 poundsmorethanthecoupe—
but you won’tnotice.Instead,you’llpickuponthestiffnessof
the reinforcedbody,especiallyinsportmode.You’llalsonote
a thrillingsquirrelinesstotheall-wheel-driveasyoupeelout.

CRITIC BloombergPursuits June 17, 2019

Inanyconvertibleyouheartheenginenoteswellenough,

butheretheydemandattention.It seemedeveryoneswiveled

asI poweredhomefromworkthroughManhattan.Theengine

roarsloudestasyoudownshift,gurglingandpopping.Have

youseenthoseYouTubevideosofdogswhiningand“talking”?

It’slikethatbutevenmoresinister.

Insidethewelcomingcabin,theM850iconvertibleis sup-

portiveinalltherightplaces,withmerinoleatherseatsthat

embraceyou.Thecockpitintegratesanexcellent10.25-inch

centraldisplayandintuitive12.3-inchinstrumentcluster,plus

a high-resolutionheads-updisplayandBMW’snext-generation

iDrivesoftware.I lovedtheambientlightingthatsoftlychanges

frombluetoyellowasyoudriveatnight.Speakingofwhich,

excellentnightvisionis anoptionalupgrade.

The12-speakerHarmanKardonaudiosystemcomesstan-

dardwitha powerful464-wattamplifier,thougheventhathas

troublecompetingwiththeengineroarwhenthetop’sdown.

Morecontroversialwillbetheoptional$650Swarovski

crystalaccents,includinga diamond-cutknobfortheshifter.

I considerthelattera well-executedextravagance,thoughmy

followersonsocialmediacalledit ostentatious.“Crystalis for

grandma’scabinet,”wasonecommentonmyInstagramfeed.

Another:“Iwishit wasconnectedtoa manualtransmission.”

Alas,there’snostickoptiontopairwiththetwin-turbo

523-horsepowerV-8.Butit hasaneight-speedautomatictrans-

mission,adaptivesuspension,rollstabilization,andactive

steering.You’llslipthroughtrafficlikewateroverstones.

Thesofttopretractsin 15 secondsatspeedsofupto 30 mph.

You won’t ever want to put it back up. <BW>

The BMW M850i convertible offers juicy upgrades

to a model that’s already pretty near perfect. By Hannah Elliott

Keep Your Options Open

CESAR SOTO/BLOOMBERG