1993 BMW 850i

1993 BMW 850ci

BMW's Art Cars are very cool, and in 1995 an 8 Series was given the full treatment. Artist David Hockney added stylized intake manifolds on the bonnet and silhouettes of the driver and steering column on the driver's door. And, cleverly moving the canine-art genre from the immortal Dogs Playing Poker fresco, the Brit artist painted a picture of his beloved dachshund Stanley onto the rear side panel as if it were a passenger. A dog! The madness!

No fooliin' around with this car and current consignment as you have the availability of V12 power at your toes. The 8er had a low drag coefficient 0.29, ranking close to a Porsche 928 - and was drawn up entirely on COMPUTER, (something of a novelty back then), with a lot of wind tunnel testing to get that swoopy, wedgy shape. It looks good, retro-good, but still good. Plenty of BMW bells and whistles, and by the standards of the day, this made it a virtual visitor from the future.

Exterior
Although greatly thinned down and not very tall, the iconic BMW front grille with its dual openings can still be seen, only this time above are hidden headlights which make up the wedge form of the front of this car. Some running lights and signals are also within this grille, and in the center is the blue and white badge. All steel bathed in original Alpine White, there is a smattering of black trimmings for the window surrounds and a mid body thin black trimming encircling this car. On back is a gracefully descending rear glass and back pillar which seamlessly meets up to form the rear trunk/deck lid. Integrated wrap around tail lighting is above a dual exhaust rear roll pan on the bottom. Alloy wheels are on all 4 corners.

Interior
Plenty of Parchment white and gray accenting are within the ergonomically designed cabin of this Autobahn time saver. Molded door panels using shades of gray and black seamlessly create a beautiful design and these are just the door panels! Slipping inside into the Parchment leather covered high backed buckets we are grabbed and are able to fine tune this adjustment of these seats to our exacting comfort level. A nicely designed dash is upfront and contains lots of technology for the climate controls, stereo, drive modes, and an orange LED thin bar display which contains an amazing amount of options to display. Gray carpeting covers their floors, and in back are a nifty set of 2 buckets to grip the rear passengers during the thrill ride they may experience.

Drivetrain
Shoehorned in under this wedge shaped hood is a beautifully preserved and shiny V12 EFI 5.0 Liter mill. Bosch Motronic M EFI is feeding this mill and a ZF 4-speed automatic is attached to the rear. 3.15 is the rear axle in this version. A major service was performed at 72,738 miles on the clock.

Undercarriage
Up on the lift we note German engineering at its finest with all neatly molded and sculpted panels to fit all the underpinnings of the mechanicals needed to handle and propel this car down the road. Some slight rust and plenty of patina but all structurally sound and looking good. 4-wheel independent suspension, and power disc brakes all around with clean dual exhaust is seen underneath.

Drive-Ability
A turn of the key and one needs to experience the smoothness of a V12 power plant. It's awaiting to be unleashed on the test track so off I go, and here it shows up with plenty of acceleration, smooth limitless power, good braking, and excellent handling. It is best described as a luxury sports coupe and offers up a comfy ride to boot!

3 Non Smoking meticulous owners have left this example in very good condition. V12 power and leather luxury, along with sporty wedge design ahead of its time in the early 90's! Interestingly enough, this car was favored by the F1 drivers of the day.