It’s got a new intelligent personal assistant, for starters…
BMW Group Malaysia has just debuted the BMW M850i xDrive Coupe, three decades since the 8 series was first introduced in 1989. Dubbed The 8, it boasts outstanding performance, state-of-the-art luxury and advanced equipment features when it comes to display and control technology, driver assistance and connectivity.
As we take a closer look at the futuristic coupe, here are eight things that impressed us most.
The new V8 engine
The latest generation of the 4.4-litre eight-cylinder unit has been radically revised and optimised, delivering the BMW M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology that generates a top speed of 250 km/h. It does the century sprint in merely 3.7 seconds and posts a fuel consumption of 10.4 litres per 100 kilometres.
BMW Laserlight
The sleek cat-like laserlights are the slimmest headlights of any BMW model to date. The low-down trademark kidney grille is hexagonal in shape, with its elements framed by a single-piece surround. The 8 also comes with exceptionally powerful 19” M Sport brakes along with blue painted M callipers. The standard specification for the BMW M850i xDrive coupe also includes 20” M light-alloy wheels in y-spoke style 728 M with mixed tyres.
Newly developed sports seats in Merino leather
The newly developed sports seats are upholstered in Merino leather and comes complemented by full leather trims for the door shoulders and instrument panel. For the first time ever, active seat ventilation is also made available where cooled air is sucked in from the interior then guided along the body to the seats’ built-in fans for effective temperature control of the seat cushions and backrests.
BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant
Debuting for the first time, this is BMW’s version of Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. It is an intelligent, digital character that is made to respond to the prompt “Hey BMW”. It learns routines and habits, and applies them in your preferred context. This is akin to having a BMW professional on board to assist and to provide casual conversation. For instance, you can say “Hey BMW, I feel tired” and this will trigger a vitality programme that adjusts the lighting mood, music and temperature, among other things, in order to help you feel more awake.
BMW Digital Key
Fumbling for your misplaced car keys will be a thing of the past with this feature. Another first for BMW, the Digital Key uses the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to lock and unlock the luxury coupe using a smartphone. All that has to be done is to hold up the smartphone to the door handle to open it. Once inside, the engine is started by placing your phone in the Wireless Charging or smartphone tray. Through the BMW Connected App, the Digital Key can be shared with up to five people.
BMW’s new iDrive 7.0 System
This is a redesigned interface with customisable interactions – which you can control by touch, voice commands, or with optional Gesture Control. Located behind the steering wheel, the high-resolution information cluster with a screen diagonal of 12.3” as well as a 10.25” Control Display will run on the new BMW operating system 7.0. It also comes with an adaptive navigation system, a hard-drive based multimedia system with 20GB of memory, two USB ports, Bluetooth and WiFi interfaces.
Active cruise control with stop & go function
In addition to the active cruise control with stop and go function, it is also equipped with Parking Assistant, as well as Driving Assistant Professional. The system comes with Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Warning, Pedestrian Collision Warning, Crossing Traffic Warning (front and rear), Emergency Stop Assistant, steering and lane control assistant, Lane Keeping Assistant with active side collision protection and Evasion Aid which reacts to pedestrians.
Intelligent connectivity capabilities
With its built-in SIM card and the unlimited data volume, emergency calls can be made to automatically summon assistance in an emergency and regular updates can be received for the navigation system’s maps.
BMW expects to sell 20 units of the luxury model per annum. It is priced at RM1.09 million, inclusive of five-year unlimited mileage warranty, a free scheduled service programme and BMW tyre warranty programme.
Head over to the official website for more information.
Images courtesy of BMW Malaysia