850i or 850 CSi?

Personally I believe the early 6 speeds are rarer...

If you are a purist then upgrading and modding either would be wrong. It all depends what floats your boat....

More options on the csi but you pay for them. You would get sport seats for sure on the csi which are a must IMHO.

If it were me I would purchase the 6 speed and then spend some on putting it the way I wanted it... Wheels, interior, bodykit etc etc....

Let us know how it goes.... and pictures please......

I agree with Schnitz, upgrade the car they way you like it. And as long as you keep some original parts you can always turn it back to stock. The question than becomes, do you want to pay more money for rarity? If yes, go for the CSi.

Good lock,

Peter

>Personally I believe the early 6 speeds are rarer...

This is an interesting thread!

I have a '91 6-speed. I studied the market (and waited...)
a lot before buying mine ("unfallfrei", 1-owner, check-book).
I still look at the market regularly.

It seems to me that 6-speed 850s are rarer. For example, in the
http://www.mobile.de site there are now about 200 850s for sale, 5 of
them CSIs and only one 6-speed. This ratio is normal at all times!
Sometimes, no 6-speed is available, and there are always plenty
of CSIs.

Of course, the CSI is worth twice or 3 times a 6-speed
*now*... but is it more rare?? I would like to see the pro-
duction numbers... 1510 CSIs and how many "plain"
850s 6-speed? (I've researched a lot but found nothing
about this, only that 20.000 5 liter were made, between
automatic and 6-speed... how many 6-speed? who knows...).

Of course: the CSI will always be the collector's
item, the car to envy, since it' the "M8" model of
the 850s.... that rear suspension seems incredible
also, but I'm wondering about maintenance and
future problems?

Maybe a "plain" 6-speed is better choice....
(mine: I have now CSI front bumpers now,
a new paint done at BMW shop, platinium
sparks, maybe I could buy also the CSI wheels...)

Regards.

-Antonio Mota
'91 850 6-speed 175.000 km

If I were looking in Europe right now it would be for an 840 6 speed.

It could be made fast relatively inexpensively and I think it is the Rarest 8 of all

for 850 only.
the 6-speed manual was introduced in 1991, before that only 4 speed auto where available.
the CSI was only delivered with the 6-speed manual, no auto on these.
there is also a 5 speed auto on the later models.

>CSI was only delivered with the 6-speed manual

BTW, the 6-speed gearboxe of CSI and "plain" 850
is the same... a Getrag model... work fine, great
feeling and lightness! I'm always saying to people
"virtually as good as a modern Honda gearboxe...
but this one takes 4 times more torque!!""... which
is to say a lot.

Regards.

-AM
'91 850 6-speed

I have seen a couple of 6 speed 840's for sale in the UK and I forgot about those... Extremely rare...Option only I think.....

Agree with Terry. More bang for your buck with the V8 but.....

I love my V12....

850 CSi ANYDAY

840 6 speeds

Only 54 840 RHD manuals built worldwide, so extremely rare

Stats are here on Jud's site

http://www.8coupe.com/BuildDat…sis/tabid/58/Default.aspx

And 422 LH drive 840s-both M60 and M62 totaled.

A few suspension mods and a supercharger on the 840 and the only superiority left for the 850CSi is a percieved rarity.

Oh yes and the AHK rear steering that was never available in the US anyway.

There are several Dinan TT owners that are regulars on Roadfly.

This one has been looping on US Ebay, I think that this is the third seller.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors…iewItem&item=330057734972

Zitat

the 6-speed manual was introduced in 1991,

Interesting, I own a 1990 6-speed. It was build in 1990, but was put on a plate in januari '91. Do I own one of the first 6-speeds?

>>6-speed manual was introduced in 1991

>I own a 1990 6-speed. It was build in 1990,
>but was put on a plate in januari '91.
>Do I own one of the first 6-speeds?

Hmmmmmm.... I was told the 6-speed was available
right from the start (1989)?? So "early" means M70
engine: 05/1989 - 12/1992 (or 10/1994, a problem
in BMW official data: http://www.e31.net/navmodelle_e.html).

Anyway, one can check the exact production date
(year and month) using:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

(put last 7 digits of chassis number (VIN) and then
scroll the "prod. month" menu.... the "birth" of our
850 should be highlited... my CB14056 was born
in October of 1991!).

Regards.

-AM
'October1991 6-speed 850

BMW start to produce the next years model in september the year before.
a car made in 9/90 is infact a 91 model.
check when you're car was made, probably is a 91 model

antoniomota here say that: my CB14056 was born in October of 1991.

This makes his car a 92 model.

BMW make cars 11 monts of the year. Jan through Jun is current year models
in August no cars are produced, the plants are made ready for the next years production this month, and from Sept next years line is made.

>antoniomota here say that: my CB14056 was born in October of 1991.
>This makes his car a 92 model.

Hhmmmmmmmmm..... I had MUCH work checking
my banjos a few months ago because I heard early
models were prone to failure... I thought mine was
a '91... I noticed also that head screws (that attach
to engine block) were "new type (hexagonal)". Now I
inderstand it!

>Jan through Jun is current year models
>in August no cars are produced
>from Sept next years line is made.

Thanks for the info!

Regards, and good year to all.

-Antonio Mota
'92 850i 6-speed 175.000 km

850I Manual

I never entered my VIN into the REALOEM.COM site since acquiring my 8.
My ID: CB42014 shows it was produced in 11/1990.

Is there a way to determine what the actual number in production it was?
Not important, just interested in knowing.