ssbmw

Wow there has been plenty of discussion on a Facebook site for Australasian 8 series owner about the Dakar yellow example- they are all saying it is cheap! Your car has the 4.4 M62 V8 too! I heard about your car nearly 20 years ago when a friend did research- trying to track a 8 series for sale. Your mileage is really low and I remember it was orient blue. good luck! Sounds like a great car.

They are 'boulevard cruisers' - designed to be comfortable, and great for long drives. They were my 2nd love behind the M635csi - the original M6. The M6's only came with a manual transmission and were more sporty (mainly due to the nature of the race-bred M88/3 power plant). However, my 840ci had a 4.4 manual gear-box coupled with sports suspension -which was a far more entertaining drive than the automatic variants I sampled. However, the automatics are still great with both V12 and v8 formats- they provide a very smooth drive. They were made very well, and the interior is a nice place to be. They are not outrageously fast by modern standards - but can still generate decent speeds. Where they show up a little - is around the twisties - it's a big car without the technology of what you get with suspension today on large performance cars - my E39 M5 for example is a different beast. They were however never designed to be M3's - that was never the point. My buddy Treone, fellow Bimmersporter is an ardent BMW enthusiast who has owned 3 E31's and he told me that they handled better than a modern Monaro he owned (hope he pipes up). The 8's are still a very nice car to drive - even today. Depends on who you are - but I always found the rare manual options more compelling to drive - and in an ideal world would loved to have owned my ultimate version - the super rare M-fettled 850csi!

Yes do it @treone - you could replicate this in your backyard ...

I live in the USA so I was initially confused why he would make this purchase. Doing a little due diligence looking at the cars sold/available in the USA- there is a shortage of E34 M5’s in the iconic, eye-catching M colours like Daytona violet. Everything seems to be in white or black with the standard leather interiors. This ex-Christchurch car spent the majority of its time near Wellington. I had heard of this car for years - people talked about this purple M5 with m cloth interior- a spec I similarly coveted. My buddy owns a white ex-UK M5 that was brought into NZ and has black leather with M cloth inserts. So insanely cool too! So I get it. This cat in Illinois was not going to find one like this in the USA very easily - despite the population. Awesome spec.

Wow is the owner a Kiwi living in the USA?

Completely factory- staggered with wider wheels on the back. My old car was completely original - from factory. Most of the NZ spec 840 ‘s came with style 5’s.

Like many of you here, I have owned many BMW’s- mostly coupes because I have always loved BMW’s designs. However, the E31 got more attention than any other car I have owned. With the body-kit and right wheels- it’s a fantastic looking vehicle.

To be fair though it sold within a week or two last time around. Rare old BMW prices have increased from a few years ago- even in NZ. Saying that though, the car market has cooled off on a global level. Things are not moving. Still think it represents great value - and I don’t own mine anymore.

This is my 5 cents worth. It is hard to get original, straight examples these days. This car despite being a Singaporean import has extensive NZ history. It’s been owned by BMW enthusiasts throughout its life. The mileage isn’t inter-galactic- not that you see too many 8’s with high travel. What appeals to me is the colour. I remember seeing it in Parnell in 2000 and I remember being blown away with how cool it looked- despite the naff 16” wheels it sat on. The E31 is arguably one of BMW’s prettiest designs and belies its age- it was designed in the 80’s but still looks majestic today Dakar is so flamboyant but suits the car perfectly!

It was Marcus’s father. Neil. He is an enthusiast who did a lot of research on this car before acquiring it… Neil loved the look of mine with the CSI body-kit so ordered the kit with the mirrors. Personally, not sure the wheels befit the car. Sure- better than the boring original 16” this car came with from factory, but a set of staggered style 5’s or M- parallels would really elevate this car. Neil is now into modern American muscle.

I know this car well. It was a Singaporean import that was brought into NZ with very low k’s. Was purchased by an Aucklander who owned a famous furniture company. He owned it for a long time - and was serviced at BM Workshop. In 2007-2008 it was purchased by a friend of mine who worked at BMW NZ. He added the modern wheels and the M-tech CSI style Aero body kit. He drove the car moderately and was a fantastic custodian of it until he sold it 3-4 years ago. Very rare In Dakar yellow. Price is crazy cheap in my opinion. Great example of a classic car in a very rare and compelling colour.

I remember this car ( the white one) when it had arrived in NZ. There was a short-lived rumour that it was a special factory order for a wealthy Japanese customer who wanted a M88/3 powering an auto E24. As Brett alluded to these cars were modified to suit Japanese customers whilst in Japan. Interesting how Japanese purchased left hand drive European imports to add ‘authenticity.’ Always wondered how the M88/3 would go when paired to an auto box. The Sth Africans released their 745i with the M88/3 but they modified the camshaft profile.

Gorgeous car though. Wonder how this goes with the M suspension - the e39 540i Motorsport was such a good car… I had a boss in 2001 who thought his was actually a M5 because it went so well!

Looking at the spec sheet, it is a desirable e38 with Motorsport suspension / body kit etc. nice car. Factory spec’d with M parallels. The ‘Schnitzer’ packages were available by the marketing department to make cars even more compelling…. Just like the marketing department placed an ///m badge on the back of E34 540i sport six speed manuals or m badges on a E39 540 Motorsport- the solitary M badge makes the car more marketable than a car badged ‘540i.’ in this case, this is missing the wheels, the pedals, the gear shift, - it is bereft of a few things that would make it a fully blown Ac Schnitzer S7