In production between 1990 to 1999, the BMW E31 8 Series was a super luxurious grand tourer coupe, it was bought in to surpass the outgoing E24 6 series, but it was not a direct successor.

Offered with either a V8 or V12 the 8 series was a capable barnstorming GT car, in this 850CSI variant BMW fitted the monstrous 5.6L V12 S70 engine, producing 375hp it would transfer this power to the rear wheels through to the road through a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Out of the reported 1,500 units built only around 50 were allocated for the UK market, making it an extremely rare beast to see on the roads.

Sadly, world events and huge price tags were against the 8 series from the start, with outside factors such as the 1990’s recession, Gulf War, and energy price spikes, leading to low sales figure the 8 Series was pulled from production in 1999.

The 8 series moniker would return in 2018 as BMW decided to make the vast grand tourer again.

Starting its life out in 1994 in central London this 850csi has certainly lived an interesting life. Little is known about the first few owners of this car but looking at recorded mileage and when the current owner picked it up in 2004 it had been used and loved over the first decade of its life.

When the current owner picked this car up in 2004 it had around about 74,000 miles on the clock and since then it has covered a mere 13,000 miles, an average of around 1600 miles a year. Although it has covered a marginal amount of miles annually the current owner has made sure to keep to the yearly servicing, these are all documented in the vast collection of paperwork that will come with the car.

The current owner has carried out a few works on this car to keep her in tip-top condition some of these works include. Front and rear springs and shocks, a replacement stainless steel exhaust system with super sprint rear exhaust boxes, clutch slave, and master cylinders and they have also renewed the twin battery set-up in the boot of the car.

By now you should be starting to build a picture of how meticulous the current owner has been when it comes to the running of their car, anything this car has needed it has had.

All you need to do is look at the condition of this car inside and out to work out just how well this car has been looked after throughout its life, especially during the past 18 years with the current owner. 

As has briefly been touched on, there is a lot of paperwork that will come with this car. Most of it comes from the current owner who has had the foresight the keep all of their invoices.
 
To begin with, the all-important V5c is present meaning a prospective buyer would not have to apply for a new one, which these days takes a while. There are also a lot of MOT certificates, one for every year the current owner has had the car. Along with the official paperwork, there is also a service book full of stamps, a little insight into how well this car has been looked after mechanically.
 
The paperwork doesn’t stop at the basic paperwork but goes into much more depth with invoices. Some of the invoices within the documentation pack include ones for as little as £1.08 for 10 rivets, all the way up to over £300 for genuine BMW brake discs. It is marvellous to see that amount of fastidious record-keeping that has been upheld throughout the ownership of this car.

However, it is not all about invoices and mot certificates, there is a rather interesting bit A4 sheet of paper from the BMW Car Club of Great Britain. It mentions that this car was part of a 20th birthday gathering for the E31 8 series at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon. 

With the car costing nearly £80,000 in 1994, you can imagine that the interior will be an amazing place, full of ‘90s tech that can still rival any 21st-century rival it will be the best place to sit back, relax, and watch the miles roll by.

The interior of the 850CSI is in remarkable condition. The electrically operated front seats move quietly on their motors into the correct driving position for you, these seats are upholstered in a great combination of light and dark grey leather.

There are no rips, tears, stains, or any signs of sagging to the material, a sign that this car has been looked after properly. Along with the seats, the door cards and centre console not only are in great condition, but they are also finished in the same colour. It’s these small elements that just tie the whole interior together making it a great place to be.
 
A couple of important jobs that the current owner has had carried out during their ownership include a replacement headlining and a new ‘MID’ or Multi-Information Display. One of the places that the E31 is known to have issues with corrosion is around the sunroof, this car was no different.

However, the current owner has had this rectified with the corrosion sorted and a new seal put in it is as good as new. During this process the headlining had been damaged so this was also replaced. On the subject of the sunroof the current owner has had the retractable interior section converted to a manual this avoids any future issues with the plastic cogs wearing out and causing issues.

If you have owned an older BMW you will already know that their LCDs can sometimes leak and obscure the information, with this 850csi you’ll be happy to hear that this has been taken care of. The current owner has replaced the old screen with a newer part so all of the display is now legible.

With the 8 series being nearly £100,000 when it was new you can imagine that there are some exciting interior details. There is a CD multichanger in the boot that is hooked up to an amazing sound system, a trip computer as clever as any 21st-century system, and dual-zone climate control.

The latter has received a new compressor during the ownership so the new owner should not have to worry about expensive air-conditioning work. With the interior of this car being in such amazing condition, it will be a perfect place to sit and enjoy many happy miles.

The massive V12 upfront does not intrude into the cabin, and you can easily have a conversation without having to raise your voice.

A true gem of ‘90s design the E31 8 series is immediately recognisable. With a sleek slanted front nose housing small and discreet kidney grills it is everything that a BMW grand tourer should be. The coolest exterior feature of an 8 series is of course the pop-up headlight configuration, a potential buyer will be happy to hear that this system works flawlessly on this E31 850csi.

Pretty much all of the exterior features are in great condition, with no cracks to light lenses, perfectly working pop-up lights, and importantly the car has gone through a process to remove stone chips from the front bumper. It’s the small details like the stone chip repairs that just go to show how well-loved this car has been over the past 18 years of ownership.

Along with the pop-up headlights, there are a couple more ‘90s era features on this car that are just excellent. Along with the sunroof, another element that adds to the exterior curb appeal are the side windows, not only does the front window go all the way down but so does the rear part.

An excellent piece of German engineering it ties the whole 2+2 grand tourer platform together. This 8 series has been finished in BMW Orientblau-metallic and when set against the silver wheels and grey interior it works perfectly.

Owing to the global financial situation in the mid-’90s there were few 8 series that ever made it onto the UK roads, so this is your chance to own a stunning example of an extremely rare car.

In general, the 8 Series is a special piece of mechanical engineering, fitted with either a V8 or V12 it is now part of a dying breed of big engine grand tourers. With this being a CSI model, it is fitted with the latter V12, but not just any V12, it’s the legendary 5.6L S70 engine.

For those who don’t know the S70/2 would go on to be the powerplant for the McLaren F1 pushing that car to just over 240mph. As you can tell this is a peach of an engine that pulls this 8 series along the road nicely.

During the current ownership, no expense has been spared to keep this V12 firing on all cylinders. There are a multitude of invoices that relate to mechanical work that has been carried out, one of the most recent invoices references the fact that all the belts and tensioners have been replaced. To start the car has a full-service book, full of stamps it has been looked after properly.

Before the car goes to its next owner it will have been through a full service, this is just another nice little element that shows how much the current owner has cared for this car and they care the next owner should be able to enjoy this car from the start of their ownership.

A few parts that have been replaced during the current ownership include, a new stainless steel exhaust system, front and rear shocks, and springs, distributor caps, rotor arms and ignition leads, front and rear discs and pads, clutch slave and master cylinders, the list goes on and on. It’s this proactive preventative maintenance that has kept this car on the road in such great condition.

One thing that 8 series are known for is munching through their twin battery setup. To help combat this the current owner has fitted two new batteries recently and always leaves the car on trickle charge when not in use. This trickle charger setup will come with the car so the new owner can also keep it nicely charged.

When this car fires up the V12 sounds glorious, but not anti-social in any way, and out on the road, this car drives perfectly. With oodles of power, it pulls well in all gears and when put in sport mode everything just feels that more purposeful.
 
Overall this car is in great mechanical condition, the new owner could easily pick the car up and drive straight to the south of France it is that good.

With the world moving sadly away from honking great V12’s this may be your last chance to own one. This car has lived a perfect life for the past 18 years and is now ready for the next owner to love and care for it as the previous owners have done. 

With full-service history, a perfect interior, and great ride quality a prospective buyer should look at this as one of the best examples of an extremely rare car.

With a reported 50 RHD examples of the CSI ever being brought to the UK it is a car that you are unlikely to see again. Whether you use it as a motorway mile muncher or a daily run around it will exceed all of your expectations creating many happy memories for the future.