It's also hard to believe that someone would spend time, effort and money to transform a 1993 850i into an odd-looking caricature (and that's a huge understatement) like the one pictured here.
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The seller, Denver-based 'The Motorsports Gallery', notes that the silver colored GT is a one-owner car with complete service records adding that aside from being upgraded with a Dinan Chip, a sports exhaust system, plus AC Schnitzer alloy wheels, it is completely stock.
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The fourth annual all-German brand Concours, which is hosted by the BMW Car Club of America, Mercedes-Benz Club of America, the Porsche Club of America and the Audi Club of North America, will play host to the North American premiere of the BMW M8 prototype and the Z4 Zagato Coupe.
The M8 Coupe project was never displayed at a show and many believed it had been destroyed until the Bavarian automaker opened the gates of its M-brand's vault in 2009 revealing it along with other gems such as the E34 M5 Cabriolet and E36 M3 Compact.
Sure we had posters of a Lamborghini Countach (preferably with a puffy haired and scantily dressed bomb shell spreading over the Italian beast) and the Ferrari F40 or the Porsche 959 hanging on our side of the bedroom wall, but these models were clearly a pure fantasy that only a select few could ever own.
The 928 and the 8-Series, on the other hand, were more attainable and practical daydreaming material.
Our unfulfilled teenage dreams could explain why as adults we waste so many hours on eBay and Craigslist looking for "the" deal and then click over to dedicated forums to convince ourselves that we can handle their maintenance costs…
In one of our usual trips on eBay, we stumbled upon a pristine BMW 8-Series that led to a low-mileage Porsche 928, which to our surprise, was listed for sale by the same person.
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The E30, a.k.a. the 1983-1991 3-Series, represented the firm's entry-level family car in the 1980s, while the E31, more widely known as the 8-Series, was the brand's flagship GT coupe in the 1990s.
But one German owner had the bright idea of taking a 1989 325i Convertible (albeit with pre-1987 tail lamps) and fusing the front end of an 850i Coupe on its nose. Of course, there was a slight problem with the width of the 8-Series fascia that was solved by…removing one of the BMW kidney grilles.
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Starting from October 28, 2011 and until the end of September 2012, the BMW Museum will present a special exhibition devoted to the development of the firm's large coupe and convertible models throughout the years.
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For one, though it’s incomplete, much of the grunt work has already been done. The unpainted fibreglass body that replicates the Diablo VT 6.0's styling has been mated to the tubular steel frame and the gas door struts, power window motors and headlights have all been installed.
Also, the brake rotors are from a Corvette and the wheels are genuine 2004 Lamborghini Murciélago 18-inch stock clad in Pirelli P-Zero rubber.
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We’ve been patiently waiting for the new season of Top Gear to come to our screens, but the time is almost here as the first episode of the series will air on Sunday.
Following last week’s release of the first teaser of season 17, BBC has now aired a second video highlighting the antics of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Among the other cars featured in the trailer are a McLaren MP4-12C taking on a Ferrari 458 Italia, a BMW 8-Series Coupe compared to a Mercedes CL, the rally version of the Mini Countryman and a Chevrolet Corvette from the early 1990s. You can check out the trailer for the new season of Top Gear after the break.
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Last week, BMW opened up the doors of its special M car garage to the press revealing a variety of unmade prototype models including the much talked about M8. The high-performance version of the 8-Series sported a bespoke V12 engine that later on found its way under the hood of the iconic McLaren F1. The twelve-cylinder unit was built around two six-cylinder engines sourced from the M3 of the era (E36) producing somewhere around 580-horsepower.
The car looks extremely production ready and it could very well enter the market within a year or two offering BMW a competitor the Porsche Panamera, the next Mercedes-Benz CLS and the upcoming Audi A7, possibly with the 8-Series badge on the boot.
The five-meter long Gran Coupé, which is a follow up to BMW's much more aggressive and unique 2007 Concept CS, comes with a very low body height of just under 1,400mm making it up to 100mm flatter than the 5 Series or the 7 Series sedans.
It seems like custom made BMW 8-Series Convertibles are twice as much as popular than we initially thought as this is the... second time in a few months that we've found such a model being offered for sale on eBay. This particular 1991 850i that has been accessorized with Alpina parts is located in California and has a 'Buy it Now' price of $32,000. If you want our opinion, with that kind of money we'd go for a pristine late 1990s example of the 8-Series -preferably a V8 model to keep running costs down- with its tin-top and its dignity, intact.Link: eBay
Even though it may have crossed the minds of BMW officials at some point, the Bavarian automaker never actually built a convertible version of the 8-Series Coupe. But when there's a will (aka; plenty of cash), there's a way. Erik Williams, a former American football offensive tackle in NFL who played most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, is (or rather was) the original owner of this custom made 1991 BMW 850i Convertible that is up for sale now by a Texas dealer located in New Braunfels.
In terms of styling, we would have anticipated a higher level of workmanship as the fine details are not up to standards. Not that it's unacceptable, but all those visible rivets seem out of place in a high-end GT like the 850i. In any case, if you're interested, the V12-powered 8-Series Convertible could be yours for $25,900.
Link: Automaniacs
The car that was supposed to offer BMW a worthy rival to the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte sports sedans, the production version of last year's CS Concept has fallen victim to the economic downturn and will not be produced after all. The announcement was made during a conference call on the Bavarian automaker's third quarter report. "The sharper focus on profitability will result, amongst other things, in product decisions being revisited. As a result, the BMW Group will no longer produce a series version of the Concept CS since this vehicle does not meet the internal requirements for rates of return," said BMW in a statement.
Fortunately, other future products of the BMW Group will not be affected by the firm's cost cutting strategy. This means that the launch of the production versions of the BMW Concept X1 SUV, BMW Concept 7 Series Active Hybrid, BMW X6 Active Hybrid and the MINI Crossover Concept will proceed ahead as planned.
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