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R-Reg 1998 BMW E31 840Ci Sport V8 4.4L


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Absolutely beautiful example! Very high specification!

Finished in the classic colour combination of Arctic Silver over black leather.

All 'Sport' features including:

  • Motorsport suspension
  • Motorsport II wheels
  • Motorsport bodykit
  • Motorsport steering wheel
  • Electric Sports seats
  • Sport Mirrors
  • Anthracite headlining

    74K miles with Full Service History. Just Fully Serviced (Inspection II) and will be unused since. MOT to end March 2006.

    Brand new Fulda Extremo ZR tyres (correct 265/40/17ZR rear; 235/45/17ZR front)

    Freshly fully refurbished M-tech II ('Throwing Star') two-piece wheels. The wheels have been PROPERLY refurbished (inside and out...not by some 'Man with a van'). The spare wheel and tyre are original and unused.

  • New wheel badges
  • New overmats
  • New gear selector
  • New badges

    A computer print out from my local BMW Main-dealer confirms the following optional extras: (some of which were very expensive 'options'!)

  • 337 Individual Sports Package (as above)
  • 353 Graduated Tint Screen Front
  • 353*Graduated Tint Screen Rear
  • 416 Electric Rear Blind
  • 423 Velour Floor Mats
  • 431 Auto-dim Interior Mirror
  • 494 Front Seats Heating
  • 500 Headlight Wash System
  • 528 Auto Air Re-Circulation
  • 540 Automatic Speed Hold (Cruise Control)
  • 676 BMW HiFi Speaker System
  • 812 GB Specification
  • 877 Remote Alarm Setting
  • 401 Electric Sliding Roof
  • 428 Triangle and First Aid Kit
  • 459 Electric Sports Seats & Driver Memory
  • 669 BMW Business RDS
  • 694 CD Preparation Kit (has boot mounted BMW 6 CD changer)
  • 863 Dealer Network-Europe
  • 880 English Handbook

    Power is transmitted through the superb BMW 5-Speed Steptronic/Adaptive (AGS) gearbox. This changes virtually seamlessly and actually 'adapts' to your driving style and road conditons by assessing the position and degree of movement of the accelerator pedal, then selecting one of four stored programs which range from 'Highly Economical' to 'Highly Sporting'! Additonally, it compares wheel slip and engine torque, automatically deciding which of the road conditions 'Normal', 'Winter' and 'Hill Climb' applies. It is therefore also able to adapt its transmission speed stages to extreme conditions for maximum traction and dynamic stabilty on slippery surfaces.

    Move the gearlever to the left and 'Sport Mode' is immediately engaged...the car still remains fully 'Automatic'. Thereafter, the lever may be moved fore and aft allowing fully manual, 'Sequential' gear selection.

    The car features ASC+T... which may be de-selected as the driver chooses...

    Steering is via the 'Servotronic Vehicle-speed-sensitive System'. This reduces steering effort in parking and at very low road speeds more than the engine-speed-sensitive system of most other BMW models, as is appropriate for one of BMW’s flagship models.

    Even cruise control was a £460 option on one these cars! My last one didn't have this. Neither did it have the heated seats which this one has, nor the 'pop-up' headlamp wash system or the electric rear blind or graduated tint screens front and back!


    Consider a base OTR price of circa £60,000 and add the above options package and this was clearly a VERY expensive and desirable car when delivered new!

    The body and paintwork are now simply breathtaking! There are NO scratches, swirls or dents... not even the tiniest car-park dink! The car has just undergone a COMPLETE respray to a very high standard! This was for no other reason than when I purchased the car it had a number of (principally bonnet & bootlid) TINY scratches in the lacquer which wouldn't come out with simple polishing and obviously stone-chips to the nose. There was NO DAMAGE on the car (please see the 'Before' photos as proof). I just wanted to get this car to a 'level beyond' the last! Please bear in mind, I bought this car with the description "Immaculate"... I never use that term myself but it gives an indication of the condition when purchased by me. The photographs on this page do not really do the car justice! It is now totally blemish free! No scratches, swirls, dinks or otherwise! Not even a single stone-chip!

    The paintwork was left as the last stage in preparing the car. It was driven straight back from the paintshop into my garage, given two light coats of S100 carnauba wax and has only come out again for the photographs!

    I have cleaned, polished and waxed under the wheel-arches.

    The final result is stunning and difficult to convey in the photographs on a winter's day!

    The interior is pristine. There are no signs of wear whatsoever on the leather of the highly desirable electric sports seats... even on the driver's seat bolsters! The seats have been cleaned and treated with a leather protectant re-instating the correct slightly matt finish (not the nasty shiny surface caused by injudicious use of certain inappropriate leather creams).

    The car has not been smoked in (ashtray and lighter unused).

    New overmats are fitted as is a new leather gear-selector!

    Absolutely everything works as it should on this car... the is not even a single dead pixel on the dash displays!!!

    This car features the later BMW 4.4L V8 (NOT the earlier 4.0L version) - those considering the purchase of an 8-Series who are not familiar with the difference MUST read 'The Nikasil Issue'article! Having read this, be assured the 'Nikasil Cloud' DOES NOT hang over this car!

    Of all the versions of the 8 Series the late 840Ci Sport is in my opinion the one to have (unless of course you must have the 850CSi with 380bhp and rear-wheel steering... a slightly scary prospect... for your wallet if nothing else!).The 840Ci Sport is both faster than the earlier 850i and handles better thanks to the lighter engine in the nose.The BMW 8-Series did draw criticism from some quarters when first launched for being too heavy and too expensive.

    In answer, I would say the critics failed to understand two fundamentals:

    Firstly, the E31 was never intended to be a lightweight sports car... It is a Grand Tourer in the truest sense! A GT car that is as capable of taking you down the road to pick-up your shopping at Waitrose as it is of conveying two occupants with all of their luggage at high speed, in style and comfort, for long distances over twisty Alpine roads and across the Continent! This type of GT car is a BMW tradition the lineage of which goes all the way back through the 6-Series, E9 CS Coupes and earlier 3200CS and 503 Coupes.

    In answer to the 'price' criticism: "When did BMW ever build a GT car that was astronomically expensive new?" Look at the lineage... they were all very expensive new (all were criticised for this... as is the current 6 Series. I previously owned a 1972 3.0CS for 13 years...the original bill of sale showed it cost close to the price of two V12 E-type Jaguars when new and a similar price to a Ferrari Dino! People who buy this sort of car expect something with exclusive styling and exemplary build quality. No other BMW I've ever owned has such a 'carved from the rock' quality about it! everything is solid from the weight of the doors down to the quality of the smallest trim features! Everything functions with a satisfying weighty 'clunk'!

    The engine in this car develops 286 bhp at 5700 rpm and a whopping 420 Nm of torque at a mere 3900 rpm! At tickover, it is virtually inaudible even when standing outside the car. With the bonnet raised you have to feel, with a flat palm, that the engine is on, so free of vibration is it. Inside the car it is quiet at all 'reasonable' road speeds. Firm pressure on the accelerator translates to 'V8 burble' and then 'roar' (more audible than in the equivalent E38 740i for example) with the horizon and once distant traffic ahead approaching at an alarming rate!... There is none of the usual BMW six-cylinder snarl.

    Even accepting BMW's own, usually conservative, performance figures this engine will propel the car from 0-62 mph in 6.6 secs and on to an electronically limited top-speed of 155 mph!

    These figures are indeed impressive for such a large and well-appointed car, but for me this somehow misses the point. It is the truly effortless feeling of power from the engine and control via the sports suspension and servotronic steering that is conveyed at all speeds... at all times!

    The above will understandably raise concerns for prospective buyers regarding fuel consumption. I have only driven this car a couple of times (e.g. getting the service done and the paintwork on A-roads and motorways at 70-ish mph). When driven sensibly 28 mpg was easily achievable. This is in no small part due to the fact that at 70 mph the engine is turning at a mere 2000 rpm (ie. little over tick-over!)

    Of course, it would be crass to suggest that if the 'performance envelope' is regularly explored, in a car of this power, that the mpg figure would not drop significantly... that is then down to driver choice!

    The full servicing schedule is thus:

  • Pre-Delivery Inspection: 12 miles BMW Bowker
  • Oil Service: 9510 miles BMW Bowker
  • Inspection I and Micro-filter: 18703 miles BMW Bowker
  • Oil Service: 28242 miles BMW Bowker
  • Brake Fluid: 33326 miles BMW Bowker
  • Inspection II and Micro-filter:37299 miles BMW Bowker
  • Oil Service,Brake Fluid and Coolant:52991 miles BMW Bowker
  • Inspection I and Micro-filter: 57256 miles BMW Bowker
  • Inspection II, Brake fluid and Coolant: 74513 miles Moseley Motorsport BMW Racing Specialists

    The car was slightly late for its previously scheduled 'Oil Service'; I therefore elected to go for a full Inspection II Service, which means the car is now serviced to a level AHEAD of schedule! Furthermore, I elected to use Moseley Motorsport (the well-known M3 specialists where I take my M3) for this, as I (personally) would not use a my local main-dealer for anything more than a simple 'Oil Service'. Not necessarily because Moseley Motorsport is cheaper because the difference isn't that great but simply because I believe the level of service is far better! Nigel Moseley, the owner, performed the service himself and was very impressed with the mechanical condition and no 'issues' were encountered. All service parts used were Genuine BMW.

    The mileage now stands at precisely 74,513 miles, i.e. only 66 miles since the Inspection II which is accounted formally by the drive back from the service and the round trip from the paint-shop only. It will remain so until sold!

    Of course, all tools (unused), warning triangle, torch, first-aid kit, document folders, manuals, old MOTs and 2 keys are present and correct. The car is completely HPI clear (with documentation) and registered in my name.

    I am not easily given to hyperbole but to put the condition of this car in prespective:

    A few months ago I went to the Annual BMW Show at Donnington. At the show there was not another 8-Series on display that would have stood up against my last 840Ci Sport (see previous webpage). This present car out does even that one! It has done about 5K miles more but is slightly newer, much higher spec, just Insp II'd and following the full respray etc is cosmetically..... well, you look at the photos or come and see it! If there really is a better 840Ci Sport available I'd like to see it! If you can find it please go ahead and buy it... before I do!

    As I usually say: "If you come to view this car and are disappointed... I'll be disappointed!"

    HOWEVER,in the case of this car, please be aware it will NOT be taken out on 'test drives' before sale... EVEN WITH ME AT THE WHEEL! It is just in too good a condition to even risk one stone-chip prior to sale! Only upon completion of an agreement to buy will I take the new owner on a test drive as final confirmation that everything functions and that the car drives as it should... which it does!

    Remember:

    "The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."



    SOLD





    About Me


    Relevant articles:

    The Nikasil Issue
    BMW Servicing
    Fuel Calculation





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