You might already be familiar with what some are saying it’s the world’s first widebody BMW 8 Series E31 from last year’s SEMA show, but this video gives us by far the best look yet. We’re dealing with a 1995 850Ci with over 174,000 miles on the clock and finished in black before receiving a full makeover. The V12 flagship with pop-out headlights still has its original paint, but it’s tucked away under a colorful body wrap featuring a fresh take on the M motif.
Aside from the extravagant Pandem body kit, the look-at-me 8er rides on BC Forged wheels wrapped around in Toyo R888R rubber and with Brembo brakes and their red calipers lurking behind. There’s more to the first-gen 8 Series than that as it has also been fitted with a quad exhaust from Supersprint to let the V12 engine breathe better.
Speaking of which, the sports coupe benefits from the larger 5.4-liter M73 engine since it’s a later model. Back in the day, it offered 322 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque. We’d be curious to know how much of that power is still sent to the rear wheels after so many miles and years of exploitation.
The interior is a veritable time capsule after being meticulously refreshed to restore the red leather’s shine. The original phone is still in there, while the steering wheel has been swapped out for an Aza replacement with Alcantara. With the help of a component borrowed from a 3 Series E46, the cabin now boasts a Z3-sourced cup holder in front of the central armrest.
The project was built over the course of 90 days for 2021 SEMA and we’d argue it has a clean look. However, it’s perfectly understandable why some people would find it a bit too much and that the owner ruined a perfectly good E31. As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks.
[Source: Driving Cody / YouTube]
