This is the story of the BMW E31 8 Series, including a special M8 model without the M badge. The 850CSi received the same M treatment as the E36 M3, but no one knows that it was legally an M8.

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The BMW 8 Series with E31 chassis was not a replacement for the E24 6 Series – it was a completely new type of GT, designed not as rolling art, but as a way to showcase BMW's research and development department.

The 850i was one of the most technologically advanced cars in the world, if not the most advanced. Its list of industry firsts is enormous and includes drive-by-wire, CAN bus technology and the first German V12 in 50 years.

But BMW forgot to include the fun. The 850i was a sales disaster. When it debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW received 35,000 orders – enough to sell out three years of planned production. When the car magazines drove it, however, the reviews were brutal and customers canceled their orders. (Largely in favor of the R129-chassis Mercedes SL.)

Sales of the 850i were so poor that BMW abandoned plans for an E31 convertible and also canceled the planned M8, which used the 640 hp V12 with ITBs and carbon intakes from the McLaren F1 S70/2.

Instead, M developed a less expensive M8, the formula for which was copied exactly for the E36 M3 on the US market: an M engine (the S70B56 – bored out and up-bored to 5.6 liters, with hot cams and high compression), a short-ratio 6-speed manual transmission with LSD, quicker steering, and a complete suspension and brake upgrade. In addition, the European versions received /"AHK/" – rear-wheel steering – and were approved for sale as the M8/E, manufactured by BMW Motorsport GmbH.

Reviews were incredibly positive – and the car sold out. But most enthusiasts don't even know the car exists because the sign didn't say M8. It said BMW 850CSi – chosen to celebrate earlier M cars like the M635 CSi.

With 380 hp and 550 Nm of torque, the CSI certainly had power, but BMW had not yet discovered the power of the M emblem.

The BMW E31 was sold as the 850i (M70 5.0-liter V12), 850Ci (M73 5.4-liter V12, automatic only), and 840Ci (both M60B40 and M62B44 4.0- and 4.4-liter V8, automatic only).

The 850CSi was only available with the 5.6-litre V12 and a 6-speed manual transmission. Because //M.

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Sound note: This car is modified with mufflers from a Ferrari 599 GTB.
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