8 Series (E31) BMW 8er (E31) Picture Thread

[Deleted member 1071]

I think I've never seen a yellow E31 before!

There's one briefly featured in Princes' "You Sexy Mothaf*****" video.

 

[gmeup]

My friend just bought a red 850 CSI with 14000 miles or 22000 original kms. 1995. One of three in Australia it is in pristine condition.

 

[Rolf]

My friend just bought a red 850 CSI with 14000 miles or 22...

That is a car you keep for life. Wow only 22000km it’s virtually brand new. Awesome stuff I am sure you will be asking your friend to take it for a spin everyday lol

 

[Rolf]

Throwback to yesteryear with a test of a 1994 840Ci V8. Even this version of the 8-series is a very desirable car.

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[gmeup]

I

That is a car you keep for life. Wow only 22000km it’s vi...

I think he does intend to keep it forever. I plan on going for drive soon, he said he will only drive it minimal to keep the miles/kms low. Also he said you need an oil tanker to follow you it consumes a lot of fuel.

 

[hovabongZA]

Cant think of many V12s that can be had with a manual. Lucky guy.

 

[gmeup]

Cant think of many V12s that can be had with a manual...

Yes its like brand new car with 6.0 litre V12 manual.

 

[mihc]

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

I don't remember this having CF wheels before. I know this was a one-off project, but is this the earliest example of CF wheels?

 

[Merc1]

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M

 

[Rolf]

I


I think he does intend to keep it forever. I plan on going for drive soon, he said he will only drive it minimal to keep the miles/kms low. Also he said you need an oil tanker to follow you it consumes a lot of fuel.

Your friends car is a beauty, what a nice colour.

 

[Tourbillon]

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I remember this, shame it never made production but the power and torque back then were Ferrari/Lamborghini levels.

 

[Rolf]

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I remember this, shame it never made production but the power and torque back then were Ferrari/Lamborghini levels.

Imagine that car was launched in 1990 it would have destroyed cars such as the F40 and Diablo in a straight line with the massive 550HP output.

 

[Tourbillon]

Imagine that car was launched in 1990 it would have destroyed cars such as the F40 and Diablo in a straight line with the massive 550HP output.

Yeah it would have definitely been a very serious contender. I believe it didn't progress because the BMW 8 Series was already pushing the manufacturer to the out edges in terms of purchase cost that they'd ever been. The M8 would have pushed it too far from what I recall BMW stating or there wasn't much profit in the project. Damn shame!

 

[SCOTT27]

Yeah it would have definitely been a very serious contender. I believe it didn't progress because the BMW 8 Series was already pushing the manufacturer to the out edges in terms of purchase cost that they'd ever been. The M8 would have pushed it too far from what I recall BMW stating or there wasn't much profit in the project. Damn shame!

The late eighties/early nineties recession killed the M8,8er Cabrio and an expensive restructuring to the 8 showcased on the M8 as designated under Wolfgang Reitzle who felt the car was too "loose" structurally.

 

[dalab]

The late eighties/early nineties recession killed the M8,8er Cabrio and an expensive restructuring to the 8 showcased on the M8 as designated under Wolfgang Reitzle who felt the car was too "loose" structurally.

Strange, I got stuck in the head in the tests that made the 8 series at that time "it is structurally rigid like a solid block of rock"....
They should have done, even if it was a momentary economic loss, they would have had an eternal icon, the expense had already been made and the base existed, these are things that I do not understand sometimes

Was there a recession in the 80s? and 90? where? , around here it was the opposite, it is popularly known as the period of "whores and champagne"

 

[Matski]

Was there a recession in the 80s? and 90? where?

The early 90's saw a recession in most of BMW's main markets, at the time it was a bigger decline in sales for them than even the oil crisis in the 70's. Given the already massive development cost of the 8-Series, and its relatively slow sales, I suspect they used up all their 'sod it lets do it anyway' credits on just keeping the model going. If you imagine a momentary economic loss as being donating a pint of blood, I suspect launching the M8 would have been more akin to getting shot in the groin with a sawn-off double barrel shotgun.

Strange, I got stuck in the head in the tests that made the 8 series at that time "it is structurally rigid like a solid block of rock"....

Given the amount of effort they put in to the development of the car, I'd be surprised if it was too loose, but then again, being pillar-less was always going to have an effect.

It was the E34 M5 Cabriolet that I recall being too flexible.

 

[Tourbillon]

The late eighties/early nineties recession killed the M8,8er Cabrio and an expensive restructuring to the 8 showcased on the M8 as designated under Wolfgang Reitzle who felt the car was too "loose" structurally.

Now there's a name I haven't heard in an age.

Yes there was a pretty bad recession and it hurt production manufacturing hard. Sales and exports suffered and at the time I was gainfully employed as an engineer, I nearly lost the position.

So I'm not surprised it was pulled. Shame really.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

This is a great video about the development of the E31

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[dalab]

Given the already massive development cost of the 8-Series, and its relatively slow sales,

Good example of the blood, a bit bloody but understandable

Perhaps due to youth I don't remember that recession, I didn't watch the news and around here everything was better than good, in any case sales were extremely slow and they only thought in the short term, they were still a relatively small and family business, their strategies at that time no doubt they turned out very well.

By comparison, the 6 series sold approximately 80,000 units in its life cycle against the 30,000 of the 8 series, a heavy difference to disguise even if you divide it into the years of the cycle.