As if buying a German sports sedan wasn’t already tricky enough. The BMW M5 and Mercedes E 63 have reached some sort of 1,200bhp dead heat, the Audi RS7 Sportback is all of a sudden good, and the AMG boys have concocted something else entirely in the shape of the complex but wonderful AMG GT 4-Door.

A car which BMW’s now made a direct rival for in the shape of the M8 Gran Coupe.

It’s a mighty looking thing though, right? One of the best-looking BMWs on sale, though plenty might argue that’s not difficult these days. Regardless, we think it looks spiffing, especially in metallic aubergine.

Beneath the surface it’s all as you’d expect – the 625hp 4.4-litre V8 of the M8 Competition sits up front and there’s four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering beneath, the former switching to rear-drive only when you press the hooligan buttons to activate its drift mode.

Y’know, just like in that AMG GT 4-Door.

Performance is startling: BMW claims a 3.2-second sprint to 100km/h, which ought to utterly shatter the peace inside.

Almost all of its extra 231mm over a two-door M8 is contained within the wheelbase, see, with two big comfy seats in the rear and air con controls and USB ports aplenty for their inhabitants to fiddle with.

When they aren’t having their face melted by the acceleration. A third seat is kinda there, if its inhabitant doesn’t mind straddling some buttons and screens.

STORY Stephen Dobie