BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe vs. Bentley Flying Spur (3rd gen)

Does the BMW 8-Series need to have a four door version even though we already have today's 5-Series? For the people behind them, "ja, wir konnen", and with that they made a variant that shouldn't be existed in the first place but they did because a few people wanted something better looking and better to drive than their F30 5-Series. Is the new 8-Series Gran Coupe the ideal alternative to the 5-Series or not?

2020 BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe

With prices start at 91,500 Euros plus on road costs, the first-ever BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe is more expensive than its 5-Series twin but since these so-called twins belonged to a different league, the 8-Series Gran Coupe was designed to take on the likes on the Porsche Panamera, Audi A7, and the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class as it means it. In fact, it's blatant to call this Gran Coupe the evil twin of the 5-Series because it does a lot more than that.

Because it's got four doors instead of the usual two like you get in the normal 8-Series, the Gran Coupe is made to accomodate VIPs at the back without squeezing through like they do with their two-door equivalents and because it is longer than the 5-Series, it's got slightly more room as well, meaning your VIP has some space to snooze about after reading this morning's newspaper.

Drive or be driven? Of course you can drive in it especially the 8-Series Gran Coupe comes solely with a 4.4L V8 TwinPower Turbo engine producing 530PS of power and 750Nm of torque and when mated to an 8-speed AT, it does 0-100kph in less than four seconds and top speed electronically limited to 250kph. And like the other 8-Series relatives, the Gran Coupe comes standard with the xDrive intelligent all-wheel-drive with electronically controlled differential lock can adapt through various road conditions like it can recognize any road conditions with precision. Couple that with the ideal weight distribution, low center of gravity, Adaptive M suspension, Integral Active Steering, and the result is a fast four-door saloon that enjoys taking things easily while cruising around town in style and comfort no doubt.

The Gran Coupe really sets itself apart from the 5-Series apart because of its style and performance but because it was based on the reborn 8-Series that is not what the BMW fans hoped for, they believed it wasn't enough because if it wants to be more than just a 5-Series carbon copy, perhaps they should look some inspiration from something else...

2020 Bentley Flying Spur

This is the 168,300 Pound, all-new Bentley Flying Spur, and like the BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe, it's based on the same stuff found in today's Bentley Continental GT, but unlike the 8-Series Gran Coupe, it's powered by a 626bhp 6.0L W12 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox, making it capable of hitting a 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 207mph. That's more than enough to crush the 8-Series Gran Coupe into the wall of shame.

And like the Continental GT, the new Flying Spur comes with a wide array of features that will keep this heavyweight limo rolling for more action such as torque vectoring, adaptive suspension, and active differential. Even with the traction control system on, it's like something so wrong feels so right all along. It maybe fit for Queen and Country but for some thrills, the new Flying Spur feels like an action hero car in disguise and it easily body-shames the 8-Series Gran Coupe by a margin.

Anyway, enough body-shaming because with such pricing, it's best for people to make do with the 5-Series' evil twin, Either way, both the 8-Series Gran Coupe and the new Flying Spur are one of the most exciting sports saloons to get jealous for because of the style, performance, and comfort worth a million likes.

Photo: BMW/Bentley