Meet your 617-horsepower BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe

Imagine you are the sort of person who enjoys the performance of a four-door M5, but want something closer to a ridiculously powerful grand tourer. You wouldn’t buy an Audi RS 7 Sportback, yet since BMW is past its M6 Gran Coupe era, your only option is its even larger successor: the M8 Gran Coupe. 

Preferably, in the purple BMW calls Ametrin Metallic. 

No surprises under the hood of the M8 Gran Coupe—BMW stuffs the same 4.4-liter V-8 that recently made it into the X5 and X6 Ms into this much classier four-door body. In terms of power, the M8 makes 591 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque in standard form, or 617 horses with the exact same torque output in Competition tune. Sixty comes in 3.2 seconds, and if you wish to continue, feel free, since the cooling and oil supply systems are designed for track use. Three drivetrain modes come through the eight-speed M Steptronic gearbox, the Active M differential, and M’s xDrive: all-wheel drive, all-wheel-drive “Sport,” and rear-wheel drive with deactivated driving stability control (also known as the tire smoker).

The M8 Gran Coupes have a 7.87-inch longer wheelbase than the two-door M8s. There’s also the double grille bars, the “M gills” on the side panels, a rear spoiler, and diffuser elements, along with the signature M twin exhaust.

You get two settings for pedal feel and two individual setup options selectable via the steering wheel. These will adjust the electronically controlled dampers, the steering, and the stability control to your preference. On top of that, you get Road, Sport, and Track modes from the factory.

All M8 Gran Coupes come with Laserlight, M sports seats, M-specific Head-Up Display, Live Cockpit Professional with navigation system, and Intelligent Personal Assistant, Driving Assistant, and Parking Assistant as standard.

That’s a lot of assistants, but the M8 remains BMW’s flagship car, no matter which roofline you may choose.