BMW M850 convertible review: Features, photos

The BMW M850 convertible is a stylish throwback with a powerful engine that nonetheless comes packed with high-tech features.The convertible isn't cheap.But the hefty price tag is certainly worth it if you've reached a certain stature in life and want to reward yourself.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.In a world that seems to want nothing but suburban utes and upscale pickups, cars like the BMW M850 convertible are romantic anachronisms. What's the point of a top-down, grand-touring, two-door convertible with a 523-horsepower engine in a realm of bubbly crossovers with turbocharged four-bangers and trucks with room in the back for lumber and logs？The rationale behind the revived BMW 8-Series is that there must be some people out there in carlandia who value a long drive at high speed while dressed to the nines. They're probably older folks who spend more than $300 on sunglasses and favor equally pricey Italian sportswear. Their luggage matches. They fly first class.And the last time they had a BMW 850 to spend money on, it was the 1990s. Sure, they've had the 6-Series. But decades ago, the old 8's massive V-12 motor meant that while the junior talent agents and guys who were trying to make partner while driving the 3-Series, there was something special for those who had hit the upper rungs of life's ladder.The V-12 option is gone, and in its place is a superior (if less cool to speak of aloud) V8 that rocks a pair of turbochargers. Simply put, the new M850 isn't screwing around with its raison d'être: to propel affluent adults toward the horizon at impressive velocities.BMW recently loaned us a 2019 M850i xDrive convertible with all-wheel-drive version, stickering at $126,000 (there's also a coupé that starts at about $112,000). I drove this first ragtop of the year around New York City and the New Jersey suburbs. I rolled large — very large. Here's what I thought: