The BMW 850CSi Is Faster than Any Stock Current Day Bimmer

In it you’re going to see one of the most revered cars ever touched by BMW’s Motorsport division, the 850CSi. That’s right, it’s a car that was launched more than 23 years ago to the day.

Back then, it featured the S70 V12 engine, a 5.6-liter monster that used to make 380 HP and 402 lb-ft (545 Nm) of torque. As the codename says, this mill was properly developed by the M division and was first intended for usage in the M8, a project that was eventually dropped in favor of the 850CSi.

The CSi moniker stands for “Coupe Sport Injection” and, in the case of the 8 Series, was used to nominate the model that was modified by the Motorsport division.

Thanks to the extra oomph (that, on the M8 was supposed to go up to 550 HP by the way) the car was extremely lively for its day. You can actually consider it the predecessor of the M Performance Automobiles (MPA) we have today on account of the modifications done to it that were not enough to make it a full-on M car. The only problem is, even today, it’s faster than most MPAs.

You can't go faster than 155 mph today

That’s because today’s cars, no matter if they are full-on M models or not, are limited to 250 km/h (155 mph). Buying the M Driver’s Package will raise that limit to 280 km/h (174 mph) on the M3/M4 and 305 km/h (190 mph) for the more powerful models like the M5 and M6, but even in that case you might find yourself standing still next to a 23-year old car on the Autobahn and that’s not a pretty picture.

Most people consider the 8 Series one of the most beautiful cars BMW ever made and, as you can see, they also had the performance to match but unfortunately, low demand led to a stop in production. Rumors have it that it might make a comeback in the shape of an S-Class Coupe competitor, but no official word was spoken on the matter yet. Keep your fingers crossed though! Now on to the 300 km/h (186 mph) video and the hero of the day: the 850CSi.