Hey All, Posting scanned JPEGs of an article that ran in the Jan 2021 issue of the BMWCCA "Roundel" magazine. It is a comparison the BMW "E31" 850CSi and the Ferrari 550 Maranello as late '90s front engine V-12 GT contemporaries. The 550 featured in the article is mine. The article was written last year and the photos of my 550 were from a photo shoot I had done in 2019. Enjoy! (Hopefully the links work.)
Very nice! And really cool Fabio gets a mention in there. You have a beautiful car and spec; I am a big fan of blue Ferraris. Thanks for sharing!
Interesting article, too bad the shifter side shots show an updated/custom knob and gaiter on the BMW My old 850i with original knob. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Love the e31 from back when they were still in production. BMW went all out showcasing their design and engineering prowess. Had a '97 840ci in cosmos black over black. Not an 850csi, but wonderful GT never the less. Amazing how Ferrari can wring so many more horses from a smaller displacement engine which can explain the higher top speed despite slightly higher Cd. Got to be partly due to their clever intake arrangement. Thanks for sharing the article and pictures of your lovely car.
I am a huge fan of the 850 (and 840) but could never bring myself to the torture of ownership. Good to see that they are appreciating, true works of art.
Thanks for sharing! Both cars looks outstanding. So beautiful and aging well. Anyone here know what the rpm. is at 60 mph. in the BMW? The Germans use to have lower rpms. than most cars, at least back then. Of course the engine has another power/torque curve and a lower red line. But it would be interesting to know the difference, as these two cars are somewhat similar. I always feel I need a «7th gear) when going at highway speed. Both legal and super fast.
i owned an 850csi for a couple years. outside of the $30k i made, it was not worth owning. doesn't do anything particularly well, not even being a grand GT. it was slow, sloppy, and boring.
Never driven an 850. Nice enough cars, but I'd agree the they ain't quite in the same league as the Maranellos. Of course, we're a bit biased here. Anyway, thanks for the kind words guys! Also, thanks to @rogbmw for writing a great article and allowing me to take part!
Both are great cars! No question for me who wins in the looks department, though! I still contend the Maranellos are the most beautiful cars produced since the 60's. That said, I would own a 12 cyl 8 series in a heartbeat.
That’s interesting. I used a 850CSI(very different from an 850i) as a daily before picking up my E39 M5. I can remember the sinking feeling that I made a mistake letting the 850 go and until this day it is the only car I regret selling, I found the handling discernibly more shore-footed than the M5. Plus it looked amazing and still does. I also love my 550 that I’ve owned for 17 years.
I know I’m in the minority in thinking that the E39 M5 was not a fabulous car. The engine was amazing but I found the handling soft, the steering feel poor and the gear shift throws too long. On the bright side I owned one of the first cars and was able to sell it 6 month later with close to 8k miles for a $7k profit. I miss the days of truly bespoke M engines.
Well, 850CSis are certainly bringing good money. Current 75k mile one on BaT already at $90k with a day to go: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-bmw-850csi-17/ and a 31k mile sold for $147k last Sep: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-bmw-850csi-12/. Right up there in 550 territory.
I agree completely. The steering was recirculating ball I remember and was pretty vague. I didn’t get the hype, despite being a big M fan at the time. It wasn’t a sharp car at all. I also wasn’t a great fan of the 850 CSI, which sounded good on paper but was quite anodyne and not very fast. having said that I wouldn’t be surprised if they overtake 550s in price in the short term. The Alpina equivalents already have.
Good call on the steering system, I forgot that it was a recirculating ball system. It’s a shame that the M division has become more about marketing than engineering. It’s funny to me that when you read the published differences in the “competition packages”, it’s mostly cosmetic. I still have my M6 GC with a 700hp Dinan tune, I enjoy it more for its esthetic beautiful than its performance. Im not very excited by the current crop of M cars so I’m not sure where to go from the M6.
great article and thanks for posting. I have owned many BMWs from that era, and often hankered after an E31. Indeed, one of my biggest car regrets is not buying an 850CSi for £10k sometime around 2010. I would have cleared £50k. Since owning a 550 i have often wondered about the comparison: - I like M BMWs, but the 550 is so much more special as to be incomparable. I have an E34 M5 (from the same era as the E31) and its a brilliant car, but not close to the Panache of a Ferrari, and equally high maintenance. - I have also driven an E39 M5. A nice, fast, comfortable saloon but feels more like a 550 CSi than an M Car. In summary, 550 owners are not missing much......
Congrats on your car being featured in this article! I was wondering why the photo by the brick wall looked familiar, then realized who was posting it! Hope to see it in person this season.
These comments make sence to me. But remember how many have been a BMW-owner in their life.... And the 850 CSI was the ULTIMATE from BMW, and it was much more expencive than a 850i. Then make a comparison to how many have been Ferrari owners... Just a fraction of the amount of BMW owners. So the total production volume from the manufacturer does indirectly something for «marketing» of their top of the line models. I mean many people are afraid of buying a Ferrari. But the quality, reliability (and simplicity) makes it much more reliable than a BMW which has all kinds of electronic things that can or will go wrong. Ferrari is more about the pure driving experience and rare exclusivity and being member of the «upper class» in car societies. In a long time perspective, I find these values more worth than all these electric assistance things. That is why I feel the 550 and 575 are still very under-priced for what they are and definately more collectible. If you compare the most expencive classic BMW to the most expencive classic Ferrari, the case is pretty obvious.
This is an excellent post, I really agree with it. I initially paused on the suggestion that Ferrari's are simpler but now I think about it the tech on my 1997 550 is probably simpler in most areas than the E34 M5 I have from 1992. Although there are some exceptions - and this is offset that many of the obscure ECUs (windows and doors etc) are easily attainable for the BMW as they were used on non M cars also. So it is certainly true that Luca Di Montezemolo achieved his aim of making the 550 relatively simple and useable. I wonder if this is true for other F cars, though.