Show Us Your Motors!

Nice sunny day, so grabbed a couple of photos on the drive of my replacement for my M340i Touring. Controversial choice, as I was intending on going for an M3 Touring but a change in some circumstances meant a performance EV would work for me, so I decided to give it a go.

Porsche Taycan GTS Sports Turismo, Ice Grey Metallic which really pops in the sun. Very, very different to drive compared with the M340i which was no slouch, but the performance on this beast is absolutely on another level.

Oh, and Lego Stormtrooper because of the colour and Porsche Electric Sports Sound :D

Also, just noticed I really need to weed my monoblock drive :p

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Will be interesting to hear how you find it contrasts from a practicality pov, compared to your old M5. I thought my M5 was a good size for carrying the kids and all their paraphernalia, minus the buggy which would be a tight fit. I’ve gone down to a G80 M3 now, which I think is the minimum that works for us, size wise. We use the wife’s Tiguan for the long trips.

I really like the look of the M8, even though the M5 was quite handsome itself. Hard to believe BMW could style the 5 and 8 so well and then churn out the G80.
 
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naefeart said:
Will be interesting to hear how you find it contrasts from a practicality pov, compared to your old M5. I thought my M5 was a good size for carrying the kids and all their paraphernalia, minus the buggy which would be a tight fit. We’d use the wife’s Tiguan for the long trips.

I really like the look of the M8, even though the M5 was quite handsome itself. Hard to believe BMW could style the 5 and 8 so well and then churn out the G80.
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In terms of space, the boot is definitely smaller. Being a coupe style, the sloping back makes the boot opening smaller. I haven’t tried but I think two full size suitcases would go in but that’s about it. The M5 could fit in two full size suitcases and a pair of cabin bags.

The M8 is longer and wider, so it overhangs normal parking spaces, the M5 would just about fit lengthwise. Interior space is good, the rear seats in the GC has plenty of leg room, the issue is the center console makes the middle seat uncomfortable if that would be an issue.

Some quirks I don’t like, are the front seats aren’t as good as the M5. No idea why they would put worse seats in your flagship model compared to a “lower” model. I use the term loosely as the M5 is a great car and it’s not a sleight on the car itself. The M5 has more adjustment on the back which I really liked and miss, it also would show on the infotainment screen what was being adjusted when you hand was hovering over the seat adjust buttons which the M8 doesn’t. The M8 has inflatable side bolsters though which is nice.

When parking the M5 would switch to an overhead view so you could see if your splitter was getting close to a kerb which was a really nice feature but the M8 doesn’t for some odd reason. That’s about it though so they are pretty small gripes overall.

As a car, I definitely prefer it to the M5, it feels more premium. It feels faster even though in reality it isn’t but that’s probably because your backside is closer to the ground. Most importantly, it’s better looking.
 
mjt said:
I think it'd be an epic all-rounder. A bit like the Panamera Sport Turismo. It'd need a tow hook though :p

-edit: ChatGPT render

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Could get the BMW Speedtop which is pretty much that but it’s rather spenny.
 
Bear said:
In terms of space, the boot is definitely smaller. Being a coupe style, the sloping back makes the boot opening smaller. I haven’t tried but I think two full size suitcases would go in but that’s about it. The M5 could fit in two full size suitcases and a pair of cabin bags.

The M8 is longer and wider, so it overhangs normal parking spaces, the M5 would just about fit lengthwise. Interior space is good, the rear seats in the GC has plenty of leg room, the issue is the center console makes the middle seat uncomfortable if that would be an issue.

Some quirks I don’t like, are the front seats aren’t as good as the M5. No idea why they would put worse seats in your flagship model compared to a “lower” model. I use the term loosely as the M5 is a great car and it’s not a sleight on the car itself. The M5 has more adjustment on the back which I really liked and miss, it also would show on the infotainment screen what was being adjusted when you hand was hovering over the seat adjust buttons which the M8 doesn’t. The M8 has inflatable side bolsters though which is nice.

When parking the M5 would switch to an overhead view so you could see if your splitter was getting close to a kerb which was a really nice feature but the M8 doesn’t for some odd reason. That’s about it though so they are pretty small gripes overall.

As a car, I definitely prefer it to the M5, it feels more premium. It feels faster even though in reality it isn’t but that’s probably because your backside is closer to the ground. Most importantly, it’s better looking.
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Thanks, that’s quite helpful, I’d forgotten about some of the M5’s niceties - especially the seating adjustments showing in the infotainment screen. I’d forgotten about them, the M3 obv doesn’t have that, but you’d have absolutely expected it to be present in the M8, how odd.

I’m glad you’ve confirmed the new car feels more premium, you never felt you were slumming it in the M5, but I would have wanted the 8 to top it. Gripes aside, sounds like you’ve made a good choice. Please keep us updated on your experiences, always good to know what ownership realities look like.
 
Decided to go against the obvious choice of the Cayman R or 600 LT and took the R8 for an epic road trip around Wales today on some of the really tight narrow and twisty stuff with the Alpine A110 owners:

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Around 200 miles driven with an average of 16mpg but the R8 continues to truly impress it handles the tight roads with precision and had no issues keeping with A110S’s no matter how tight this got it’s abilities are superb. Even better is the subjective feel and engagement from the hydraulic steering, mechanical differentials, the sublime gated manual shifter and a sound track to die for. It feels biblical faster though in a straight line it’s probably only marginally quicker than an A110S due to the extra 500kg it needs to lug around. But on the mega tight roads the car gives superb levels of confidence and you can really attack and push the car very hard and get it moving around a little but the grip is immense but in a good feelsome way that is fun even within legal speeds.

Still shocked at how good the gen1 R8 V8 manual is, a truly impressive car and it can literally do everything so well. Masterclass Audi !
 
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HoneyBadger said:
I was going to say, I appreciate the R8 is fast but you’d have to be flying it rather than driving it! :D
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By modern standards or paper figures it not statistically a fast car, why so many argue against its supercar status. Personally I feel its a supercar sports car hybrid and its all the better for it, to drive it feels as quick as the V10, but of course the V10 would disappear down the road, but the way the 4.2l V8 pulls so cleanly from 2000rpm all the way round to 8250rpm is a true masterclass and it truly pins you in your seat giving the impression your going way quicker than you are, for me this is what makes it so great, under full throttle you think your going faster than you are, great for the license. In reality it is only marginally quicker than our Cayman R PDK and A110S was, but to drive the R8 feels twice as quick, how it pulls this off is uncanny considering it weighs in at 1620kg. Put it through a tight set of bends and it feels more like a 1300-1400kg car.

Then when you want to chill and drive sedately its quite the comfort cruiser, build quality is impeccable throughout.

In modern world of cars I'd say to anyone who enjoys driving pleasure, just go and drive an R8 V8 Gen1 manual, it is truly the best of them all for driving pleasure.
 
Its clearly a Supercar, the people who argue against it are probably just sad gatekeepers.

0 - 60 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 187MPH 20 years ago? I guess the Lamborghini Gallardo isn't a supercar either then.
 
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