8 Cars The BMW M850i Can Beat To 62mph

The new BMW 8-series is here, and perhaps the only thing more dramatic than the way it looks (check out the size of those kidney grilles!) is the performance of the M850i. Yes, with 523bhp available from its 4.4-litre V8, the top-of-the-range 8er isn’t exactly wanting for power. But even so: this is a big car which you wouldn’t expect to be as quick as it actually is.

We don’t know the weight figure yet, but despite all the carbonfibre-reinforced plastic and aluminium used in its construction, it isn’t going to be light. And yet, thanks to its clever ‘xDrive’ all-wheel drive system, it’s absurdly fast off the line, hitting 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds. And to think, this isn’t even the fastest version of the 8er we’ll ever see - an even faster ‘M8’ should come along at some point.

So to put that acceleration figure in perspective, here are some sports cars and supercars that the M850i could - based on factory figures - beat to the benchmark speed. Progress is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 - 4.2 seconds

Ferrari F430 - 4.0 seconds

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S (manual) - 3.9 seconds

Nissan R390 - 3.9 seconds

McLaren-Mercedes SLR - 3.9 seconds

Ferrari F40 - 3.9 seconds

Porsche 911 GT3 (manual) - 3.9 seconds

Mercedes-AMG GT S - 3.8 seconds