BMW is celebrating the 8 Series Gran Coupe (G16) at Pebble Beach with a very special edition after a production run that began in 2019, first revealed in 2019. This is the 2026 BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupe Edition M Heritage, making its debut at this year’s Monterey Car Week. It is a 500-unit send-off special, built specifically for the BMW faithful and those who care deeply about the Bavarian automaker’s history, and specific nuances like color codes.
If you remember the original E31 8 Series from the ‘90s, you will recognize the vibrant paint palette seen here right away. That’s right, each of these now iconic original hues: Bright Red, Mauritius Blue metallic, Cosmos Black metallic, Oxford Green metallic, and Daytona Violet metallic, colors that were offered on the E31 that debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show, are all back. But this time, they feature on the latest M850i xDrive Gran Coupe.
Beyond the visual bits, BMW isn’t skimping on hardware on this special edition either. Each one of these M Heritage cars will feature an M carbon fiber roof with exclusive M tri-color stripes, the M S with port Professional package, Style 895M bi-color Orbit Grey 20-inch dual-spoke alloys, and summer performance tires. Black-caliper M Sport brakes, Shadowline headlights, and extended Shadowline trim keep the look sharp but not flashy.
Inside, BMW Individual has gone to town. You get M Sport seats wrapped in Black Full Merino Leather and Alcantara with a diamond pattern, Alcantara on the headliner, dash, and upper door panels, and tri-color M stitching on the seats and belts. The M badges in the headrests are non-illuminated. A matte-finish carbon fiber console, glass shifter, and etched “M850i Edition M Heritage” script with “1/500” numbering on the sills and cupholder cover make sure you remember that what you’re looking at isn’t a regular M850i.
Spec-wise, there’s nothing to add here since every car comes fully loaded with the high-end Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround sound system and the Driving Assistance Professional Package. The performance numbers are unchanged from the standard M850i. The 4.4-liter TwinPower Turbo V8 still pushes 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic, good for 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Top speed sits at an electronically-limited 155 mph.
So, which of these five heritage paint shades would you consider? If you are indeed a fanboy, the best part is that you don’t need to pay extra for them either, since they’re already baked into the $130,400 base price. However, the real question is whether this will be the last time BMW channels the old 8 Series so directly. With just 500 examples slated for production, most will be spoken for long before the first one rolls off the line. Production starts in November 2025 with deliveries in early 2026.
Source: BMW
