I’ve said a few times on this site that I’m not a drop-top guy. I think hardtops look better and I’m not fond of the obscene levels of wind noise that comes with the no-roof experience (just watch this section of the video to understand why). I have strongly held this opinion for a fairly long time and I never thought I’d change it anytime soon.
Then a BMW M850i came into my life –on a beautiful day by the way– and shook that belief to its very core. Here’s the context, and the why.
The Context:
I’m part of a media group in my region and they have this annual event called the RMDE (Rocky Mountain Driving Experience). Every year they go on a mini road trip and bring some press vehicles to drive throughout the drive. This year they had a handful of vehicles and among the vehicles listed was a piece of text that read “2019 BMW M850i”. I was pretty shocked to see this vehicle in the list considering how it is/was but got pretty hyped nonetheless.
Here’s how much I didn’t care for convertibles: When I first read that sentence, my mind IMMEDIATELY went to the coupe version. The possibility of them using the soft-top M850i never even crossed my mind once. As such, it’s not hard to imagine my surprise when, while walking around the hotel parking lot where we were starting, I saw what was unmistakably the drop-top configuration of the M850i pull in. A bit of annoyance possibly slipping into my subconscious as I walk slowly and watch this BMW make its way to a parking spot, feeling like it’s mocking me with this plot twist that I set myself up for.
Being the optimistic person that I am, I decided to put a positive spin on things. “It’s still a brand new BMW 8-series and it’s not like it’ll be boring to ride in,” I tell myself and “it could be worse” on top of that.
That, in a nutshell, is the mentality I had regarding the M850i. Which now brings me to the part where it completely shattered that mentality.
The Why:
The ingredients: A sunny day, a great b-road, a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 making 523 horsepower, and a sport button.
The result: A honeymoon-esque experience where I understood the true appeal of having nothing but the sky as your roof.
This experience was very different from the last time I was in a convertible. The last time I was in a convertible was when I attended the same event the year prior. That time, there was a Mercedes-Benz E-Class convertible available. It didn’t win me over or change my opinion, to be honest. It wasn’t particularly sunny and the wind noise in the back –as you can see from the link above– was pretty atrocious even with a wind deflector. There’s something even worse about that car though, and I have to be a bit cliché to explain why…
It had a really nice interior, an exterior to match, and a drop-top, but that’s the only thing that really made it “special”.
You see, the Merc was… just a car. It had a really nice interior, an exterior to match, and a drop-top, but that’s the only thing that really made it “special”. Beyond those things, there’s nothing separating it from being a normal car without a permanent roof like a Mini Cooper convertible or a Chrysler Sebring convertible. Of course the interior and exterior are nicer than both, but its normality is exactly the same as both too. Simply, it’s an appliance just like those two examples and many more (one in particular I keep thinking about is the VW Eos).
Thing is, I can forgive the Eos, Sebring, Eos, and other cars of that type being appliances because they’re at a far cheaper price point. Below $35K you really have to decide what kind of convertible you’re going to get. You’re either going to get a normal convertible that’s boring to drive, or you’re going to get a Miata. There aren’t that many cars that bring the gap between the two extremes in an affordable way (Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Convertibles START at $35K). Once things hit the $80K price bracket though? Sorry, but a little thing called “performance” needs to join the party before I think about going.
Thankfully, all of those things are precisely what the BMW isn’t. It’s an exciting, enticing drop-top because it’s got an engine and a sport button –which opens up the exhaust– that add drama to the situation. You get the air, the sun, the sense of freedom, and the backdrop of a twin-turbo 4.4-Liter V8 snarling through the trees in the hills of southern Colorado. Tell me that doesn’t put a smile on your face reading that. I might as well have lived out a Forza Horizon 1 fantasy!
The end of the road.
That last paragraph is the reason why I now get it. The unfiltered sound of an engine on a brilliant b-road with nothing but the sky and the wind to accompany you? I think that’s the fantasy most have when they get a convertible and I now fully understand the appeal of that fantasy.
Lastly: Thank you, BMW M850i. You have opened my eyes to a world of cars I never thought I’d understand, let alone think about buying someday. Now I’ve just got to figure out which Gen II Viper I’m getting first. An RT/10, or a GTS coupe?
Thanks for reading! What car changed your opinion about a particular body style? Tell me in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed this article, see you soon.