BMW M8 Competition Convertible 2019 first drive

This is the most expensive version of BMW’s most expensive car, the four-seat, drop-top M8 Competition packing 616bhp, the potential for a startlingly fast 3.4sec romp to 62mph and if you order the M Driver’s Package, a derestricted engine management system allowing a top speed of 190mph.

That figure probably lessens slightly with the generously insulated fabric roof folded below deck, but would feel at least as dramatic. 

The M8 Competition shares many core ingredients with the M5 Competition, but there are plenty of chassis sharpening tweaks too. These include a 7mm lower ride height, a wider track, stiffened engine mountings (for sharper turn-in) and extra bracing of the front and rear subframes, these building on an already substantial arsenal of dynamic hardware which includes four-wheel drive, an electronically governed mechanical limited slip differential, traction control, ESP and a quartet of 20in Michelins, the rears fractionally plumper than the fronts.

That’s because larger slugs of torque can be directed rearwards depending on driving mode, the ultimate of these, rather thrillingly, turning the M8 into a pure rear-wheel drive machine, as with the M5. 

Apart from the sumptuous, quilted leather upholstery, what’s likely to strike a driver first is the apparent complexity of driving this drop-top missile. 

Above the busily buttoned steering wheel spokes is a pair of red anodised levers cryptically marked “M1” and “M2”, while a crowded centre console presents buttons marked “M Mode” and “Set Up”, the third bearing a twin exhaust symbol. The role of the last of these is more obvious, but the others are less explicit. And the glass-capped gearlever knob’s pattern will require thought if you’re unfamiliar, too.

Prodding the starter soon reminds you of the M8’s core promise however, its quartet of exhausts issuing a low, blaring roar highly suggestive of power. A long, empty road and a deep-sunk throttle will immediately and emphatically confirm this car’s massive pace, committed braking the effectiveness of a by-wire system that has plenty to do with no less than 2010kg to slow. 

Despite such heft this open top M8 can dart about with grippy aplomb, although you’re unlikely to forget that you’re riding aboard a big car unless you’re indulging the wide surfaces of a track.