BMW Reveals the 2020 840i Lineup

Are you wanting all the pizzaz of the BMW 8 Series but without the huge price tag? By dropping two cylinders and using a straight-six engine, BMW created the 840i and 840i xDrive Coupe and Convertible. They’re a relative deal at a starting price of $88,895 for the 2020 BMW 840i Coupe, while adding xDrive to the mix ups that to $91,795. Chopping the top changes those prices to $98,395 and $101,295, respectively.

Does an 8 Series with a six-cylinder sound not as exciting? Well, honestly it’s not, but that doesn’t mean the car has no guts. The TwinPower 3.0-liter inline 6 uses turbocharging to push out 335 horsepower between 5,000 and 6,500 rpm. It also produces 368 lb.-ft. of torque from 1,600 to 4,500 rpm. That’s good enough for rear-wheel-drive models to do the 0-60 sprint in 4.7 seconds. Splitting the power among four wheels shaves 0.3 seconds off that time. With the top chopped, the 840i time increases to 5.0 seconds while the xDrive model hits it in 4.6 seconds. Those aren’t slow times, but you won’t take down any supercars.

BMW won’t let you row through the gears because it seems to be on a campaign to kill manuals. The only transmission for the 840i models is an eight-speed Steptronic Sport automatic. The press release goes on about this reducing curb weight, but so does ripping out half the onboard electronics you don’t really need, like Glass Controls and Indirect Illumination fiber optics.

Anyway, production of the 840i begins this month so you can start buying it in September.