The new M8 marks a genuine first for BMW's naming policy. This is the first full-M version of an 8-series, although not for lack of trying.

In the early 1990s, a V-12–powered M8 was developed around the brief of chasing supercars, with a 550-hp engine that would have given a top speed of nearly 200 mph. But with a global recession biting, the project was axed, the prototype parked in the corporate museum. BMW opted to make the less extreme 850CSi its flagship instead. Nearly three decades later, that decision has been revisited.

HIGHS: Huge performance, dynamic security, more rewarding than an M850i.

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As the M5 is to the M550i, so the M8 is to the M850i, the cherry- and cream-covered triple-scoop sundae that sits at the top of the range. It's better in every key metric but spun from a similar package. Like the M850i, the M8 uses a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 engine and drives through an eight-speed automatic transmission. There is more power—of course—with the M8 making 600 horsepower and the optional Competition package boosting that to 617; the M850i makes do with a mere 523 ponies. Torque reaches the road through a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system that can disengage power to the front axle. Both the coupe and convertible M8 will be launched this year as 2020 models, with a four-door Gran Coupe following shortly after.

You will have to wait to learn more about the regular M8, as we only got the chance to drive two Competition versions on the official launch in Portugal: a convertible on inland mountain roads and a coupe at Portimão, a demanding racetrack that sees little motorsport action but gets booked back to back for sports-car and supercar debuts.

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LOWS: V-8 can't match the thrills of its AMG rival, electric brake booster feels strange, minimal practicality.

The Competition package is an extra $13,000 on both cars. In addition to the modest power increase, it brings stiffer engine mounts, additional front-wheel camber, ball joints on the rear toe links to stiffen that attachment point, and a fractionally more aggressive tune for several of the car's electronic systems. There is also a small "Competition" badge beneath the M8 insignia, so your buddies will know you spent more.

Don't worry: even comp'd up, the M8 has not been turned into an overly hard track hound. On the road, the convertible demonstrated impressive ride compliance over poor-quality surfaces with little cowl shake, in both Comfort and Sport modes.

It was quickly clear that the chassis prefers grip over slip. The engine's huge-everywhere effort was delivered with minimal drama even in the partly wet conditions of our test drive. The standard eight-speed is excellent, smooth under gentle use, and with reactions that feel as snappy as a dual-clutch 'box when faster shifts are needed.

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Selecting the M8's Sport AWD mode puts the stability control into its more permissive half-off setting, but even doing this only slightly increases the sense that there is any rear bias to the power delivery. Only the combination of slow corners and large throttle openings will produce the sensation of back-end slip, which is quickly neutralized as torque is diverted forward. The rear-wheel-drive mode can only be selected with the stability control fully disengaged and is clearly designed for little more than parking-lot tomfoolery, which is one of our favorite varieties of the stuff.

Grip levels are high, and the M8's front-end responses are sharp. The M8 shrinks on a tight road far better than the M850i does, and its steering feels much better as well, with voluble feedback. Unlike the M850i, the M8 doesn't get rear-axle steering, and while this means it's not quite as maneuverable at low speeds, the car feels more natural when pushed hard, without a change in response rate between both ends. These are the reasons people still buy M cars, right?

While the M8's steering impresses, its brakes do not. This latest M has one of the increasingly fashionable electric-booster setups and offers Comfort and Sport modes. Neither felt quite right. Sport gave the sort of overkeen response usually associated with Audis and offered no sense of connection through the pedal. At risk of casting ourselves as loom-smashing Luddites, we have yet to find an e-booster that has convinced us this is progress for anything other than progress's sake.

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Experience on track at Portimão was limited to six laps in the M8 coupe, following a pace car whose driver was intent on making sure we didn't have too much fun in the increasingly sodden conditions. It was enough to confirm that under higher circuit loadings, the chassis does feel more lively than lesser 8s'.

In the DSC Sport traction setting, the M8 can be coaxed into progressive loss of rear-end grip and will allow respectable yaw angles before intervening. Although still obviously a large and heavy car—BMW claims the M8 coupe weighs 11 fewer pounds than the M850i, which we've clocked at 4400 pounds—the M8 felt much more at home on the track than the M850i coupe that we drove at Portugal's Estoril circuit last year.

Other changes between the M8 and M850i include more muscular exterior styling, so the single-digit M car can assert its seniority, and specially patterned 20-inch wheels on the Competition. The pure M also sounds more muscular than the M850i, although still somewhat short of the operatic drama of Mercedes-AMG's 63 models.

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Inside the cabin, the M8 has darker trim, additional carbon, and more laterally supportive seats. It also uses the same gear selector as the M5, one that needs to be pushed sideways from neutral to drive and left and forward for reverse. The more conventional linear arrangement found ing lesser 8-series is more instinctive. The rear seats feel just as cramped as in those cars, too; greater practicality will arrive with the forthcoming M8 Gran Coupe.

We don't know if the M8 makes the M850i look like a bargain or an irrelevance. The M8 is better to drive and brings no significant experiential compromises over its cheaper sibling. Conversely, the M850i is almost exactly as good at being an 8-series, and it costs about $22,000 less than the regular M8 and $35,000 less than the Competition. We're pretty sure there isn't space in the market for three variants so close to each other. Our suspicion is that most buyers will head straight to the top of the pile, which isn't a bad place to be.

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Specifications Specifications 2020 BMW M8 VEHICLE TYPE

front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe or convertible BASE PRICE

Coupe, $134,995; Convertible, $144,495; Competition Coupe, $147,995; Competition Convertible, $157,495 ENGINES

twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.4-liter V-8, 600 or 617 hp, 553 lb-ft TRANSMISSION

8-speed automatic DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 111.3 in

Length: 191.8 in

Width: 75.1 in

Height: 53.3–53.6 in

Passenger volume: 81–82 cu ft

Trunk volume: 12–15 cu ft

Curb weight: 4400–4650 lb PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)

Zero to 60 mph: 2.8–3.0 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 7.4–7.6 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 10.8–11.2 sec

Top speed: 155–190 mph EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)

Combined/city/highway: 17/15/21 mpg Expand Collapse

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