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allan

850CSi

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While in the Square Palmy Nth to day came up behind a V12 850CSi Black with Euro Plate V12 CSi made me look twice. The NZ flag and fern parts of the plate were worn looking but the rest of what I saw was nice my query is are their many of these around in NZ?. A young dude was driving around 25-28ish.

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Glenn has had a silver RHD manual one in at his shop at times. Very rare.

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Hi Allan,

I am pretty sure I have seen this car and from memory I thought it was a 850csi because of the plate, but in reality I am pretty sure it was an early 850i (circa 90' or 91').

The 850csi's in RHD were made from 93-96 and only 160 were made, and dome were designated for NZ.

From what I believe, there are now 4 genuine 850csi's in NZ.

The silver one that Glenn is selling (93' ex HK), the red for sale on trademe (96' ex Singapore) and two from the UK; a black one that has been here for awhile (94'), and the Daytona Violet example that arrived sometime over the last 2 years.

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Would one of those engines fit in an e30?

if it could, that would be a beast LMAO

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Would one of those engines fit in an e30?

if it could, that would be a beast LMAO

Isn't it a rule that all BMW motors will fit in an E30. lol.

There is a V12 Twin Turbo E30 on youtube.

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Hi Allan,

I am pretty sure I have seen this car and from memory I thought it was a 850csi because of the plate, but in reality I am pretty sure it was an early 850i (circa 90' or 91').

The 850csi's in RHD were made from 93-96 and only 160 were made, and dome were designated for NZ.

From what I believe, there are now 4 genuine 850csi's in NZ.

The silver one that Glenn is selling (93' ex HK), the red for sale on trademe (96' ex Singapore) and two from the UK; a black one that has been here for awhile (94'), and the Daytona Violet example that arrived sometime over the last 2 years.

From a BMW production site I just read tonight only 1510 csi's built Edited by 1rotty

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Had a look on Wiki and it made mention of a few item. The later csi's had the round tail pipes, earlier models had square, the one I saw had square. Interesting thanks for the info.

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From a BMW production site I just read tonight only 1510 csi's built

Hi, you are probably right, but I am pretty sure that there were only 160 in RHD.

A very rare ///M powered car.

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Some interesting info

Only 1510 units of the BMW 850CSi were built from August 1992 until october 1996. Because of stricter emission guidelines from January 1997 on, the production of the 850CSi ceased as further development, because of the few cars sold, would have been too expensive. So it has the same destiny as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. By the end of 1996, all dealers still having a CSi, were instructed to license them - and if it was for one day only - because with the new guidelines it would have been impossible to do.

↑ ↑

Specification Extras that were 'standard' in every 850CSi

Euro USA

× × Engine S70B56

× × 6-speed manual (automatic not as an option)

× × Final drive ratio 2.93:1

× Final drive oil cooler

× Engine oil cooler

× × Stiffer suspension (No electronic damping control available)

× × Chassis lowered 15mm

× × Servotronic, motorsport specific

× × Limited slip differential

× × Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC+T)

× × Aluminium wheels with brake ventilation

× Active rear axle kinematics, motorsport specific

× × Electric steering wheel adjustment

× Stronger brakes

× × Upgraded front and rear spoiler

× M-design door mirror

× × Dashboard with red pointers and different looks

× × 850CSi-badge

× × Folding rear seat backs and ski bag

× M-Interieur (Bicolor)

× × Leather seats

× 'BMW Motorsport' written on doorhandles

× × ///M emblem embossed in lower door frame

↑ ↑

The hydraulic four-wheel-steering

Maybe what makes the 850CSi most special was the Active Rear-Axle Kinematics system which was standard on all Euro CSis. It's abbreviation (AHK) is the abbreviation of the german expression for it (Aktive Hinterachs-Kinematik). While normal passively steering rear axles allow the wheels to be slightly turned by the forces acting on them when cornering, the hydraulics of the AHK turns in the rear wheels before those forces build up. The AHK is therefore a real for-wheel-steering system!

From a speed of about 60 kph (37 mph, BMW doesn't disclose the correct numbers) and up, a computer controlled hydraulic system steers the rear wheels depending on the turn angle of the front wheels. All four wheels then turn into the same direction, minimize weight shifts (the CSi weighing almost two tons even beats Turbo-Porsches in lane change maneouvers) and even allow steering adjustment in a curve to an extent that would inevitably cause you to crash in any other car. According to various sources the maximum angle the rear wheels turn is between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees (again, BMW doesn't tell).

With the introduction of the CSi the Active Rear-Axle Kinematic was also on the option list for the normal 8 series. But the additional amount of money you had to pay was 6400 Euros (DEM 12500), so a non-CSi with AHK will belong to the rarest things on this planet.

Here you will find detailed technical data.

↑ ↑

BMW M8

1990, V12 (S70/1), about 6.0l displacement, 550 hp, prototype, number: 1

The BMW 850CSi is a detuned version of the M8 which has never been produced and remained a prototype only. The M8 should have been built in a consequently lightweight manner in order to be a 'Ferrari-Killer'. The specially developed 550 hp engine has never been used except in the prototype - of which only one exists. But with the support of McLaren the M8 engine was transformed into the power plant of the McLaren F1 super sports car. At the time of development of the M8 there was virtually no market for such a car, so the BMW manager cancelled the project.

The M8-Prototype is perhaps the best-kept secret of BMW. Absolutely no one must see it or can get information, by order from the general manager himself. Questions from motorsport magazines remain unanswered as well. The car is locked away in the so-called Giftschrank, which could be translated as 'poison-storage'. According to BMW it is hidden behind lots of boxes anyway and will be destroyed in the near future as the 8 series doesn't exist any more and neither a successor.

↑ ↑

The Prototype has never been road safe (even the headlights were missing as you can see in the picture) and was only loosely patched together, which is the reason why it is not presented in their museum. It's not even good for that ...says BMW.

Yes, the papers of an 850CSi say, it's an M8, but that's not of much use if you know what it could have been. What the S70 engine is capable of speaks for itself. See the world record run of the McLaren F1. The guys at McLaren say they could get 1000 hp at 9500 or 10000 rpm from the engine.

The different versions of the S70 engine:

S70 5576 ccm 380 hp, 24V, 850CSi 1992

S70/1 about 6000 ccm 550 hp, 48V(?), M8 prototype 1990

S70/2 6064 ccm 627 hp, 48V, McLaren F1 1993

S70/3 6064 ccm 635 hp, 48V, McLaren F1 1996

↑ ↑

Alpina B12 5.0 Coupé

06/1990 - 05/1994, V12 (based on M70), 5.0l displacement, 350 hp, number: 97

The Alpina coupé are tuned 8 series cars taken from the normal production lines. Their number is included in the production- and shipment figures. So they do not add to the total number of 8 series cars.

The Alpina B12 5.0 Coupé is based on the 850i and was available with the 4-speed automatic gearbox only.

Here you will find detailed technical data.

↑ ↑

Alpina B12 5.7 Coupé

11/1992 - 12/1996, V12 (based on S70), 5.7l displacement, 416 hp, number: 57

The Alpina coupé are tuned 8 series cars taken from the normal production lines. Their number is included in the production- and shipment figures. So they do not add to the total number of 8 series cars.

The Alpina B12 5.7 Coupé is based on the 850CSi and was available with 6-speed manual transmission only.

Here you will find detailed technical data.

↑ ↑

OOh-that was long.

Couldnt find RHD figures but I'm sure I've seen that 160 somewhere.

Edited by 1rotty

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The hydraulic four-wheel-steering

Maybe what makes the 850CSi most special was the Active Rear-Axle Kinematics system which was standard on all Euro CSis. It's abbreviation (AHK) is the abbreviation of the german expression for it (Aktive Hinterachs-Kinematik). While normal passively steering rear axles allow the wheels to be slightly turned by the forces acting on them when cornering, the hydraulics of the AHK turns in the rear wheels before those forces build up. The AHK is therefore a real for-wheel-steering system!

From a speed of about 60 kph (37 mph, BMW doesn't disclose the correct numbers) and up, a computer controlled hydraulic system steers the rear wheels depending on the turn angle of the front wheels. All four wheels then turn into the same direction, minimize weight shifts (the CSi weighing almost two tons even beats Turbo-Porsches in lane change maneouvers) and even allow steering adjustment in a curve to an extent that would inevitably cause you to crash in any other car. According to various sources the maximum angle the rear wheels turn is between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees (again, BMW doesn't tell).

sheesh if people replace the self levelling/"active" system in other cars cos iits to expensive to replace,i wonder how much it costs to buy the parts fir the 4 wheel steer system!

Edited by kiwi535

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sheesh if people replace the self levelling/"active" system in other cars cos iits to expensive to replace,i wonder how much it costs to buy the parts fir the 4 wheel steer system!

I heard a figure of $22k being thrown around by a friend of mine who is an esteemed owner who is a BMW independent specialist workshop. Don't know if that involves labour but he told me that one of the cars that came in to NZ had some issues regarding this awhile back, and this is what was quoted.

However, I don't pretend to be an expert on this matter and am not sure whether this is accurate. I was shocked when I heard this though- that money could buy another very nice car!

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Wouldnt be surprised.

From realOEM The AHK drive motor accuator alone is $US6990

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