BMW 850: history and description

BMW 850 began to develop in 1984 for replacement on the conveyor 6-series in the body of the E24. For the first time the car was introduced to the general public in 1989 and in the same year went on sale. Initially, popularity was high, but gradually declined. Production continued until 1999, when the excitement subsided, and all who wanted, had already purchased this car. In just 10 years of production, a little over 30,000 cars were produced and sold. Such a small figure was caused primarily by the sky-high price of the coupe - from 70 to 100 thousand dollars. Not even the budgetary 840s have saved the situation. But in any case, the BMW 850 E31 was and still remains one of the most interesting and ambiguous models of the brand BMW.

In the 850 model, BMW tried to implement the whole spectrum of technical innovations that existed then. New, at the time, multi-link rear suspension with the effect of passive steering, electronic gas pedal, retractable lights, engine V12 300 hp With a successful six-speed manual transmission and a bunch of advanced electronics. The body of the E31 itself was made in an aerodynamic scheme with a drag coefficient of only 0.29. Designers managed to achieve the impossible: for all its dissimilarity to other BMW cars , 850 allowed to uniquely identify themselves in the flow. Elegant contours and peeping out from under them a beast. Very beautiful car, which still looks quite modern. The salon was a rare luxury for the coupe and was made according to the scheme 2 + 2. All this stuffing brought a lot of cars to 2 tons, which was about half a ton more than allowed for a sports car.

The BMW 850 was an attempt to combine the sporty character of the coupe with the comfort and functionality of the executive class. The attempt, although not successful, was definitely counted. In other words, he is also the flagship of BMW, rare, desirable, but there is money to spend without it.

For 10 years of production there was a whole model range:

• 830i and 840Ci - cheaper modifications with 3 (220 hp) and 4 (280 hp) liter engines, respectively.
• 850i - the very first model, the M70B50 engine, 5 liters capacity and 300 hp power. Equipped with both an automatic 4-speed, and a mechanical 6-speed gearbox.
• 850Ci - the new engine M73B54, 5.4L - 320 hp
• 850CSi - with a modified engine from the 850i, which received the marking S70B56 and power 375 hp.

Also, the tuning studio Alpina was involved in the business and produced its own variants of the BMW 850.

In general, the car, although it was unusually beautiful, turned out not very successful and untimely. The sky-high price and expensive maintenance has extremely narrowed the target audience. The man who wanted speed, bought Ferrari, comfort - Mercedes, private "BMW" arranged and charged M-version, and only true connoisseurs of the brand could decide to buy the flagship. The decline in sales was also fueled by the war in the Persian Gulf. Then the fuel prices jumped, and the demand for gluttonous and impractical models fell.

Whatever it was, the BMW 850 was and will be an amazing car, a remarkable milestone in the history of the firm. Today the prices for it at auctions of Germany are walking from 5 to 30 thousand euros, and the offers are in a sufficient range. True, the cost of maintenance is near space, so the BMW 850 still keeps the brand of the car "not for everyone".