Top Gear’s Chris Harris: the M8 Competition isn’t Worth $215K
The renowned Top Gear host says the M8 Competition is essentially the same car as the M5 and M6, but with less space.
The BMW M8 has become a hit or miss for a lot of BMW enthusiasts. Some praise the car for its incredible styling, sleek body lines, and overall aesthetic. Others hate the very idea of the car because BMW decided to turn their M vehicles, which used to be strictly about performance, into a luxury cruiser. Without a doubt, the car is an interesting model for the company and its high price point definitely has turned some heads.
One of the biggest concerns for many enthusiasts is, can it truly be an M car if the focus from the factory for the vehicle is luxury and not driving? How exactly does that make up to be “The Ultimate Driving Machine?” Just because it is the most powerful M car ever, doesn’t necessarily make it good, does it? Top automotive journalist, Top Gear host, and pro racing driver, Chris Harris, has an opinion on this very matter. Thanks to Top Gear‘s YouTube channel, we get to see his take on BMW’s latest creation.
The interview starts squarely with a clear-cut question by Jack Rix, Deputy Editor at Top Gear Magazine. The question being “does it [the M8 Competition] do it for you?” Harris squarely answers, “No.” Why? Well, Harris gives us a couple of reasons. The first being, that this M8 is essentially the same car as the M5 and M6, but with less space. Not to mention, he also has some aesthetic issues with the car, including the sloping rear windshield, which supposedly doesn’t look as good in person as it does in pictures.
He then clarifies that he doesn’t have any particular animosity for the car, it’s just not his preference. He then goes to state, “they are great cars, BMW has got this platform sorted… but let’s face it, BMW struggles at this price point and always have done.” Coming in at £165,000 ($215,000 USD) for the example seen in the lobby of the Top Gear studio, this is far from an affordable car. According to Rix, this is easily “mid-engine supercar range.”
So does the M8 simply lack the features that made older generation M cars so great? According to Harris, this is partially the case why he takes this stance. “An M car should be recognizable from about a half a mile away to a saddo like us through the way that it sits, its camber, a slightly wider stance.” However, these M cars, including the M5, according to Harris, “don’t have that.”
Not to mention, the Competition version, which got launched “only four and a half hours after the regular one” isn’t that much different from the standard model despite the big price bump. Toward the end of the interview, Harris states that “at [$130,000] I could make an argument for it, at [$215,000]? No.”
Which side of the argument do you stand by?
Join the 5Series forums now!
