Car Back Catalogue | BMW

1996 8 Series

Brochure | INT

The 1996 BMW 8 Series Coupés.

The passion of motoring reaches its climax in the BMW 8 Series: a car offering the virtually perfect blend of mobility, luxury, and active driving pleasure. This top-of-the-range sports coupé is virtually predestined to make motoring a fascinating experience time and again, regardless of whether you prefer a more dynamic or relaxed style at the wheel. The BMW 8 Series is also thrilling in its design and paves the way as a spearhead in technology borne out particularly by the 8 Series' extremely sophisticated suspension and high-performance power units: 12-cylinder engines displacing 5.4 and 5.6 litres, and the new 4.4-litre 8-cylinder. We therefore refer to the BMW 8 Series quite rightly as an automobile created to set new standards and offer sheer driving pleasure at its best.

Outstanding beauty from every angle will be your first impression of the BMW 8 Series coupés. For these cars offer a perfect symbiosis of streamlining, on the one hand, and supreme aesthetic beauty, on the other. Automotive progress in its purest form.

1996 BMW 850CSi Performance Highlights

The unique style and class of the BMW 8 Series coupé is the result of passion for aesthetic design blended perfectly with progressiv automotive technology.

Sleek and elegant, muscular but graceful, the BMW 8 Series coupés allow your imagination to indulge in a much broader definition of top performance than that of power alone.

Featuring a new 4.4-litre 8-cylinder, the BMW 840Ci offers performance far beyond the usual.

Not least, it is the striking, powerful face of the car that makes the BMW 8 Series so unique.

Whatever perspective you choose, you will be thrilled by the clear, consistent design of the BMW 8 Series.

A comfort-oriented luxury coupé or a high-perform-ance sportscar? The BMW 8 Series goes far beyond conventional standards, offering a unique driving experience in the guise of the 8-cylinder 840Ci or the 12-cylinder 850Ci and 850CSi.

The classic lines of a classic coupé accentuate the dynamic character of the BMW 8 Series.

The exclusive class of the BMW 8 Series coupé results, inter alia, from a unique standard of function benefitting from superior er-gonomics. And it is characterised by the most supreme design featuring exquisite, first-class materials.

Ensuring efficient and relaxed interaction of man and machine, the driver-oriented cockpit offers ideal conditions for exclusive motoring pleasure. The result is a combination of style and function that's simply sensational.

Supreme motoring refinement is also a question of engine tech-nology. BMW power units excel through their turbine-like running smoothness and shattering performance, thus contributing significantly to the car's high standard of active driving safety resting on the secure foundation of the 8 Series' outstanding suspension.

The V12 power unit tailored by the specialists at BMW M GmbH exactly to the requirements of the 850CSi excels through supreme torque and almost inexhaustible performance reserves, thus establishing a new milestone in 12-cylinder technology. The outstanding 5.4-litre 12-cylinder powering the 850Ci.

Digital Motor Electronics (DME) featured by BMW is the epitome of innovative, future-oriented engine management. Achieving the highest standard of precision, DME controls, monitors and masterminas all! engine functions such as the ignition, fuel injection, oxygen sensors, and many other items. Accordingly, DME ensures superior fuel efficiency and very good emission control under all running conditions.

Electronic engine power control (EPC) replaces the conventional mechanical link between the accelerator and throttle butterfly and uses electronic control instead. As a result, engine power is dosed even more sensitively, regardless of the accelerator position: Should the wheels threaten to spin in a fast bend, for exam-ple, EPC automatically reduces engine power. Being part of the on-board electronic management system, EPC is also able to provide an automatic cruise control function.

Cylinder-specific knock control acts against any factors which might have a negative influence on the combustion process. Low-grade fuel or very high ambient tempera-tures, for example, make the pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber increase considerably, the engine therefore starting to knock. This is registered by knock sensors, the signal generated in this way being trans ferred directly to the Digital Motor Electronics (DME). which, within fractions of a second, will redefine the ignition angle and timing for each cylinder. The result is a smooth combustion process in all cylinders and at all times, the engine being able to run efficiently and without problems on virtually all grades of fuel.

Innovative engine technology makes the seemingly impossible possible: to develop more power on a lot less fuel. Our latest example of this outstanding ability is the new, state-of-the-art 8-cylinder displacing 4.4 litres.

Steptronic transmission offers you the individual choice of ATM automatic gearshift or a direct, manual gearbox. When overtaking, for example, you enjoy optimum flexibility while on winding roads you can adjust gearshift behav-four to your personal style of motoring.

The new 8-cylinder power unit displacing 4.4 litres in the BMW 840Ci ensures even more drive comfort, improved engine noise manage-ment, and enhanced fuel economy, at the same time offering the very best in flexi-bility, performance and low cost of ownership. This is attributable not only to the increase in engine size, but also to the fine tuning of the camshafts and valve drive, the engine cooling system geared to specific motoring requirements, and the new electronic engine manage-ment.

Steptronic transmission in the 840Ci and 850Ci combines the benefits of ATM automatic transmission with the freedom of a manual gearshift. To activate the automatic transmission, leave the selector lever in position "D", to choose the automatic sports program rewing the engine up to higher speeds, move the lever to position "S". In the automatic transmission mode, le, with the selector lever in positions "D" or "S". Adaptive Transmission Management (ATM) considers all relevant factors to select the best possible gear, learning by itself in the process. To recognise the driver's personal style of motoring, for example, ATM constantly evaluates the position and operation of the gas pedal. It compares drive forces and wheel spin and adjusts the gearshift to "normal", "winter" and "hill/setting off road con-ditions. ATM even considers the current driving situation, in this way avoiding unnecessary gearshifts, eg in stop-and-go traffic or bends. For individual selection of gears, briefly move the selector lever forward from postion "S" in order to shift up, and backward from "S" in order to shift down. The gear you have selected will in each case be shown in the instrument clus-ter. And when you want to move back to automatic, just push the lever to the right to position "D".

The camshafts with eccentrically displaced intermediate segments largely compensate for any imbalance caused by the valve drive system. Since this dispenses with the need for additional compensation shafts, the result is excellent smoothness with minimum weight.

Whenever required in unfore-seeable, extreme situations, active rear axle kinemat-ics (ARAK) offers an unprecedented level of stability on the road. Part of the dynamic driving system featured as standard on the 850CSi, ARAK helps to give you exemplary safety even in the most difficult situations.

Driving safety and motoring comfort of the highest cali-bre. Thrilling supremacy wherever you go is provided by the unique suspension combining a double-joint spring strut front axle with BMW's multi-arm integral rear axle. Driving characteristics are therefore excellent in all situa-tions, roll comfort and noise control are enhanced to the highest standard.

Electronic Damper Control (EDC) adjusts automatically to changing driving conditions and road surfaces. The result is extreme comfort and driving safety at all times.

The suspension is further enhanced by Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC + T) for even greater safety, for example on slippery roads or in tight bends on routes through the mountains.

Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) in the 850Ci permanently monitors the suspension of the car with maximum precision. As a result, you enjoy optimum directional stability and roadholding above all in bends.

The sophisticated multi-arm integral rear axle guarantees supreme joy of motoring and excellent handling in every situation.

Contrary to conventional power steering, Servotronic offers power assistance as a function of your actual road speed, and not as a function of engine speed. The advantage is particularly efficient power assistance for example when parking, with the servo effect decreasing at higher road speeds.

Active rear axle kinematics (ARAK) in the 850CSi offers an even higher standard of active safety by its "intelligent" control of the car's suspension: With the rear wheels having an active steering effect, the risk of the car swerving out of control, for example in a sudden ma-noeuvre or when changing the position of the steering in a bend, is avoided nearly alto-gether. Monitoring the movement of the steering wheel and the speed at which the car is travelling, active rear axle kine-matics calculates the optimum steering angle and moves the rear wheels accordingly by means of electrohydraulic con-trol. As a result, ARAK offers a significant improvement in driving stability in a sudden manoeuvre, like ABS when applying the brakes, And quite generally, a car equipped with active rear axle kinematics will follow the driver's instructions more precisely and predictably also under normal conditions.

Electronic Damper Control (EDC) available as an option on the 840Ci and 850Ci serves to provide extra safety and motoring comfort in one by automatically adjusting the dampers to different road, load, and driving conditions. Monitoring all movements of the car, an electronic control unit determines the optimum level of damper forces: When setting off, applying the brakes and in steering manoeuvres, damper forces are increased. when travelling at a constant speed they are reduced in the interest of greater motoring com-fort. Apart from this automatic adjustment process, you can also choose a harder, firmer setting at the touch of a button.

Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC + T) prevents the wheels from spinning and guarantees optimum stability on the road. Up to speeds of 40 km/h or 25 mph, Traction Control (T) builds up additional brake forces. And since the left and right wheel are braked independently of one another, ASC + T acts like a limited-slip differential varying its locking effect from 0 to almost 100 per cent. Whenever the risk of the wheels spinning presents itself at higher speeds, engine management reduces drive forces to keep the car fully stable even in such a situation. A further point is that ASC + T may be deactivated where neces-sary, for example to provide wheel spin where desirable (eg when the car is snowbound or running on sand, etc).

Going even further than ASC + T, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) in the 850Ci en• sures superior driving stability above all in bends. Monitoring wheel rotation speed, steering wheel movements and road speed, this sophisticated system recognises lateral acceleration and the risk of the wheels spinning right from the start. Then, like ASC, DSC intervenes in the engine management system, reduces drive power and helps to keep the car stable and on course.

Ellipsoid headlights for the low beam and foglamps work in principle in the same way as a slide projector. The only difference is that the slide is replaced by a diaphragm giving the light beam exactly the contours required for optimum illumination of the road ahead, light therefore being literally projected on to the road. The advantages of this system are even better illumination of the road ahead, better illumination to the sides, and minimisation of any self-dazzling effect. The bottom line is that you can see pedestrians, cyclists, road signs and marks even more clearly than before.

With the seat-integrated belt system all three belt pivot points move together with the seat when adjust-ed. As a result, you always have optimum restraint and protection regardless of your size and seating position.

To obtain additional storage space, simply tilt forward one or both backrests at the rear.

Finished in top-quality soft velour, the luggage compartment offers ample space for two complete sets of BMW golf bags.

Fully driver-orient-ed in its design, the cockpit meets the highest demands in every respect: All primary information is right in the driver's line of vision and is shown clearly and unmistakably.

Waiting for your command: The electronic im-mobiliser will start the engine of your BMW only after verifying the code on the key of your car.

The memory function for electrically adjusting the driver's seat allows you to retrieve any of three different seat positions and the appropriate position of the headrest and rear-view mirrors. All you do is press a button for the var-lous settings memorised elec-tronically.

The seat-integrated belt system on the extremely stable driver and front passenger seats developed especially for the 8 Series reduces forces acting on the occupants in a collision by more than 50 per cent compared with a conventional system. And at the rear the ergonomic belt system guarantees ideal belt geometry for occupants of virtually any size. The belts prevent your body from moving to the inside in a side-on collision and can easily be tightened with one hand.

Check/Control monitors all| major functions and shows their condition or any deviation from proper operation. The lights are even checked when not switched on, information being presented once again by the display in the instrument cluster and supported by a sound signal, depending on the priority level of the message to be communicated.

The on-board computer offers the driver helpful information such as his average fuel consumption and average road speed, the distance to his des tination, the distance he can still cover on the fuel in the tank, and the estimated time of ar rival. All information may be retrieved at any time while on the road simply by pressing a button on the direction indicator lever, the data required then being shown by the display in the centre console and in the instrument cluster.

Also fitted as standard, automatic air conditioning with microfilter allows the driver and front passenger to choose their own air flow and volume on either side of the car. This automatic control and individual air distribution quickly gives you the temperature you prefer, which is then maintained con-sistently. And apart from automatic control, the air conditioning may of course also be controlled manually.

Automatic air recirculation (AAR) makes sure that harmful substances in the air do not get into the passenger com partment. Detecting substances such as carbon monoxide. nitric oxide and ethanol, the system automatically switches the heater and air conditioning to air recirculation for a certain period whenever the level of pollutants becomes excessive.

With auxiliary ventilation and auxiliary heating available as an option, you can maintain temperatures at the level desired in the passenger compartment without even running the engine. Both systems may be programmed in advance by the on-board computer.

The electronic immobiliser safeguards your car with unique efficiency: The ignition key comprises an electronic code function based on your own, permanent personal code and a second code modified by the electronic immobi-liser every time the engine is fired. Immediately when switching on the ignition, this "intelligent" system first reads your personal code and then checks the individual code varied each time. If both responses are accepted, the immobi-liser transfers a coded signal actuating the Digital Motor Electronics (DME). Without this signal the engine cannot be started, not even by short-cir cuiting. The energy required for exchanging data in the manner described is conveyed by a transponder in the steering wheel lock, ie, through a wireless connection. Should the battery of the remote control key run flat, you can obviously still unlock the doors and start the engine. If, finally, you one day lose your key, you can have it cancelled by your authorised BMW partner and you will receive a replacement key immediately.

BMW Individual is our vision of the ultimate automobile tailored to its owner like a perfect suit. It is a philosophy which allows you to create your very own, personal BMW. A one-off driving machine built to your individual order, in accordance with your personal wishes and requests. The result is an automobile designed consistently to satisfy your taste and preferences in every respect.

Apart from exclusive paintwork, BMW Individual allows you to upgrade the interior of your car with virtually any material you would like - provided it complies with our strict quality require-ments. And you have the same freedom of choice when it comes to the colours you prefer. Instead of opting for leather all round, you may for example achieve a very special effect inside your 8 Series through a harmonious combination of various materi-als. Or you can install various electronic units such as a fax machine. When fitting the most sophisticated computer and communication systems, BMW Individual keeps a close eye on practical functionabil-ity and full maintenance of all safety standards. In all questions regarding the individualised design of your BMW 8 Se-ries, you naturally have the support of our experienced specialists able to offer you advice and sug-gestions.

The unique profile of the BMW 8 Series coupé is ensured not only through BMW Individual with its exclusive range of options and amenities. For there is also a wide range of special equipment carefully tailored to the car and fulfilling your most personal demands in terms of comfort, performance, safety, and exclusivity.

The leather sports steering wheel with airbag adds a sporting touch to the interior of the car. Very attractive in its three-spoke styling, the steering wheel offers you perfect grip at all times.

Top-quality wooden trimming, for example in high-gloss bird's eye maple, gives the interior particular flair.

Over and above the light-alloy wheels fitted on your BMW 8 Series as standard, you also have the choice of particularly sophisticated two-piece light-alloy wheels in classic cross-spoke styling for a highly exclusive touch.

The BMW D-net car telephone keeps you in touch efficiently not only in Ger-many, but in most other European countries, too.

Service BMW-style. The high standards we apply to our cars and their technical qualities also apply to the service we offer our customers.

Our first and foremost objective in this context is to offer our customers first-class, personalised ser-vice. For we know that only customers satisfied in every respect with the service provided will remain our customers in the long run. Reliable and economic service BMW-style starts with the development of our cars. Through easy-to-repair design concepts and sophisticated technical systems such as the BMW Service Interval Indicator and BMW onboard diagnosis. After you have purchased your car, your BMW partner will continue to offer you the customer service you rightly expect. Highly qualified specialists and workshops with the most advanced equipment guarantee exemplary service quality - for example by using the most advanced electronic systems to diagnose the specific condition of your car. And data stored within your car's electronic memory is reliably evaluated by the BMW Diagnostic Information System when you go to the workshop, allowing rapid and low-cost repair and maintenance. It almost goes without saying that your BMW workshop uses only Original BMW Parts ensuring quality, reliability and an accurate fit true to BMW's supreme stand-ard. Which is precisely why your BMW partner gives you a 12-month warranty on the work done and the parts used. The benefits of a strong partnership with BMW are of great significance in other areas, too. For our emergency service is always there to help you when you need assistance. And BMW service mobiles are out on the road in many countries to take care of your car whenever the need arises.

Whether you need a car for private purposes or busi-ness, BMW financing guarantees a consistent interest rate in line with general terms in the market. And you decide yourself on the level of monthly instalments for your new BMW, depending on whether and for what amount you wish to make a down payment and which period you choose between 12 and 72 months. BMW net leasing even gives you the option to pay only for your actual use of the car. You do not even have to take care of selling the car after-wards, since you simply return it to your BMW partner upon expiry of the agreement. As a convenient alternative to your company car, we also offer you BMW service leasing taking care of virtually all maintenance and repair requirements as well as your motor insurance. For further information on the numerous financing and leasing options we have to offer, just contact your BMW partner who is also able to provide special brochures.

1996 BMW 8 Series Standard Equipment Specifications

1996 BMW 8 Series Specifications

1996 BMW 8 Series Optional Equipment Specifications

1996 BMW 8 Series Colour Specifications

1996 BMW 8 Series Colour Specifications