1997 BMW 8 Series 850 review from Germany

Nothing mechanical went wrong.

Some pixels in computer display failed.

Normal maintenance quite expensive if done by dealer.

Totally reliable.

Car gets lots of attention as it's not a common sight.

Very good performance from 5.4 litre V12. Reasonable fuel consumption for such a large, big-engined car, about 21 mpg average.

Weighs almost 2 tonnes fully fueled.

Not a sports car, but a fast luxury tourer able to cover great distances at high average speeds in comfort due to good ride quality, comfortable seats, very low wind noise, low engine noise and low exhaust noise.

But nice to use also for just popping out to the shops.

Back seats useless except for small children or packages.

Very little roll, secure handling.

Superbly built and finished.

Cost new was huge, but rapid depreciation means they were a half-price bargain after 2 years.

Lack of B post gives spacious open feel to car.

Unable to drive faster than 120 kph with windows down as they automatically close at this speed.

Large trunk, contains 2 batteries, one each side. Probably to achieve 50:50 weight distribution.

Front windows automatically and instantly drop-down about half an inch when the door handle is lifted so they clear the peculiar rigid door seal surround, but this can be a pain in winter if they freeze up with frozen rain.

Doors are long and very heavy so parking in normal car parks can make exit/entry awkward.

This was bought as a second car, but ended up being used most of the time.

Most people don't know it's a BMW until they see the badge.

Shape of front end is long, low & sleek, but back end looks like it was tacked on from a 3 Series.

The odd styling, high price and impractical configuration probably was the reason for poor sales, only 30,000 in 10 years and motoring journalists compared it unfavourably with the old 6 Series.

Engine, gearbox and some front brake & suspension parts are common to the BMW750.

If buying, get it checked out by an expert as repair costs are very high.

The Jaguar E-Type was not appreciated so much in its time as it is now and this car will be the same. A future classic.

3004 were shipped to the UK.