You got me on that one, Mike..........I never got to drive an 850.
Just looking at one is a treat, though....it's a real eye opener. It is one of the most handsome BMW's ever done, probably second only to the Isetta.

 

That car looked great, as well as many many cars of the old days. Too bad nowadays most cars are pretty ugly, including BMW and Lexus.

 

I don't understand why the understated classy looking interiors seem to have been left behind. All kinds of bells and whistles and flashy chrome.

That BMW looks really nice, both inside and out.

 

Not only that, but compare the dash/console materials, interior trim, and door thickness back then with a lot of newer cars. Many vehicles today, unfortunately, get cheaper and tinnier with every redesign.

And here's a real ace-in-the-hole for the 850. Back then, BMWs didn't have.................

 

That's possibly my favorite BMW of all time overall . . .

 

beautiful car
but on paper, porsche 928 spanks its *** back to bavaria

 

I always liked this car but hardly ever saw one on the road. It was way too expensive which is why it sold poorly and a bit too heavy and not very fast for its lofty price tag. I would love to get a used one but I have heard they have their share of BMW issues and will be extremely expensive to maintain and own. The interior is very nice and looks high end and it just shows you that interiors with numerous buttons can look very good compared to some cheap **** and annoying screen BMW uses now that is supposed to replace all those buttons. I'll take the 8 series over the current 6 series any day.

 

I'd love to drive one... it would be interesting for sure, but I never did care for the way they looked, really...

It's amazing, also, to see the performance, features, and specs that you got back then for over 100 grand is now available and exceeded in cars less than 1/3rd that price.... and that's not even with inflation taken into consideration.

By the way... where are you getting all of these old mag reviews? Is there an archive somewhere out there? I'd love to check out some others.

 

sounds like a good car, but imo the front looks realllly ugly

 

Marshall, let me try to finish that last statement for you: iDrive

 

Wow a V12 with a manual transmission... Yummy.

Just saw a 840 in Downtown Atlanta recently. Beautiful car.

I actually use to own a 8-Series... well a Hot Wheels one anyways. It was definitely one of my favorite cars.

 

You picked the right one Mike. There's the 850i, 850csi, 840i, and 840ci. The 850csi *is* the M8.

 

I used to think the 8 series was one of the ugliest cars BMW has ever created - but now the design has grown on me a lot. It is indeed a very unique car and has that "kickass" look to it. Very sweet.

 

And technically speaking, the BMW Isetta wasn't a BMW at all but an ISO.