OLDEST SERIES FOR SALE
Fascinatingly historied GT still has tales to tell – and you could be its next owner
What is believed to be the oldest known surviving BMW 850i – and one with a unique history – has come up for sale privately in Lincolnshire.
The right-hand-drive car was registered to BMW UK’S head oce in Bracknell, Berkshire, on 19 October 1992. However records found by the vendor show that it was manufactured on 24 November 1989 and stored it in Germany for two and a half years before arriving the UK.
Vendor Tim Ring told Classic Car Weekly: ‘I’ve spoken to people at
BMW both in the UK and Germany over the years and nobody can come up with a full explanation.
‘The general thought is that the 850i was either intended to be used for testing or maybe a press car.
‘BMW maybe never intended to sell this example but with a full order book and two year waiting list for the cars in the 1990s maybe they just decided to move it on.’
After BMW UK, the BMW went to the CEO of Redken Laboratories, a firm owned by L’oreal, as a company car, who kept into his retirement.
BMW has said that the only other example produced in 1989 was a test mule, which was later scrapped.
The 850i V12 was BMW’S contender for the ultimate grand tourer. Available with the option of a six-speed manual gearbox, it could hit 155mph and 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds. It remained in production until 1999.
The example for sale is said to be in pristine condition, having accumulated just 63,500 miles over the years, 2800 of those being from Tim’s ownership.
Also in the existing records is a fax from Autohaus BMW in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, to the first private owner confirming a list price of £65,094.
Tim is still looking for more information on the car’s history and is asking £34,995 for it.
❚ 07763 629341
❚ tim_ring1@hotmail.co.uk