13K FOR A 100K CAR? THATS A NO BRAINER!WHERE IS THAT TOYOTA NOW?I LIKE THE MISTER TWO BUT IT SURE ISNT OR EVER WAS ANYTHING CLOSE TO AN 850.I GET CROWDS AROUND MINE EVERYWHERE I GO.HAVENT SEEN A CROWD AROUND ANY TOYOTA.......EVER.EVEN IF THEY WERE UPSIDEDOWN.
JIm - 14 years ago
Oh, and I forgot to mention a few things. The 850 6 speed was the very first production car to mate a 6 speed manual with a V-12 engine. Not a Ferrari, not a Lambo, nor any other of the traditional ground-breaking high-end cars. In addition, it had such features as tilt-down right mirror when going in reverse, electric tilt and adjust steering wheel, heated doorlocks, heated windwhield washer fluit, a serial bus network, limp-home capability (one bank of the engine can shut down in case of failure and the other side will still get you home), dual climate control, and an integrated in the stereo handsfree voice dialing in car phone in 1992! The list goes on and on. My hands would tire before I got done with all the features. In other words, there was a reason the car was the flagship of BMW. Yes, it was heavy, but it is one of the most comfortable highway cruisers EVER built, even to this day, two decades later.
Jim - 14 years ago
Dex is partially right. The stock 850i 6 speed was rated at 0-60 at 6.1 seconds and the Toyota MR2 Turbo was rated at 0-60 at 6.0 seconds. But, we don't measure cars by their sprint alone. On the highway, an 850 would DEMOLISH an MR2 (but who cares?). The beefier 850CSi would demoslish an MR2 in any driving situation. But, once again, I digress from the fact that this is somewhat irrelevent. The interesting thing about the 850 is that 20 years later, it still commands huge attention, and draws a crowd wherever it goes. The sheer aesthetic beauty of the car is tremendous. Recently, I pulled into a local purveyor of spirits, and went into the store, noticing a new Corvette in a nearby parking space. Shortly thereafter a group of weekend sports warriors entered in search of that elusive brew to pass a weekend day. They started asking everyone in the store who had that awesome car in the parking lot. A patron smiled and proudly claimed that the corvette was indeed his, and the gang of brew seekers informed him that it was the green BMW 850i that they were inquiring about at that time. Needless to say, the corvette owner was a bit miffed and left somewhat crestfallen, and shortly thereafter I proceeded to spend about 10 minutes in the parking lot explaining all the features and history of the car to some rapt admirers. They all left with a chorus of "that's the coolest car I have ever seen". So, Dax, there is something to be said for that experience alone. And it happens ALL the time.
Eric Arrr - 14 years ago
Not from a 60mph rolling start, they couldn't.
Dexter Baxter - 14 years ago
These cars are stupid.
Back in the day a Toyota MR2 Turbo could out accelerate and out handle one of these bloated, expensive, overweight, overwrought German Panzers.
The resale value speaks volumes about this, BMW's Edsel.
13K FOR A 100K CAR? THATS A NO BRAINER!WHERE IS THAT TOYOTA NOW?I LIKE THE MISTER TWO BUT IT SURE ISNT OR EVER WAS ANYTHING CLOSE TO AN 850.I GET CROWDS AROUND MINE EVERYWHERE I GO.HAVENT SEEN A CROWD AROUND ANY TOYOTA.......EVER.EVEN IF THEY WERE UPSIDEDOWN.
Oh, and I forgot to mention a few things. The 850 6 speed was the very first production car to mate a 6 speed manual with a V-12 engine. Not a Ferrari, not a Lambo, nor any other of the traditional ground-breaking high-end cars. In addition, it had such features as tilt-down right mirror when going in reverse, electric tilt and adjust steering wheel, heated doorlocks, heated windwhield washer fluit, a serial bus network, limp-home capability (one bank of the engine can shut down in case of failure and the other side will still get you home), dual climate control, and an integrated in the stereo handsfree voice dialing in car phone in 1992! The list goes on and on. My hands would tire before I got done with all the features. In other words, there was a reason the car was the flagship of BMW. Yes, it was heavy, but it is one of the most comfortable highway cruisers EVER built, even to this day, two decades later.
Dex is partially right. The stock 850i 6 speed was rated at 0-60 at 6.1 seconds and the Toyota MR2 Turbo was rated at 0-60 at 6.0 seconds. But, we don't measure cars by their sprint alone. On the highway, an 850 would DEMOLISH an MR2 (but who cares?). The beefier 850CSi would demoslish an MR2 in any driving situation. But, once again, I digress from the fact that this is somewhat irrelevent. The interesting thing about the 850 is that 20 years later, it still commands huge attention, and draws a crowd wherever it goes. The sheer aesthetic beauty of the car is tremendous. Recently, I pulled into a local purveyor of spirits, and went into the store, noticing a new Corvette in a nearby parking space. Shortly thereafter a group of weekend sports warriors entered in search of that elusive brew to pass a weekend day. They started asking everyone in the store who had that awesome car in the parking lot. A patron smiled and proudly claimed that the corvette was indeed his, and the gang of brew seekers informed him that it was the green BMW 850i that they were inquiring about at that time. Needless to say, the corvette owner was a bit miffed and left somewhat crestfallen, and shortly thereafter I proceeded to spend about 10 minutes in the parking lot explaining all the features and history of the car to some rapt admirers. They all left with a chorus of "that's the coolest car I have ever seen". So, Dax, there is something to be said for that experience alone. And it happens ALL the time.
Not from a 60mph rolling start, they couldn't.
These cars are stupid.
Back in the day a Toyota MR2 Turbo could out accelerate and out handle one of these bloated, expensive, overweight, overwrought German Panzers.
The resale value speaks volumes about this, BMW's Edsel.
Dex Baxter