The E31-chassis BMW 8-series was not a replacement for the E24 6-series — it was a completely new kind of GT, designed not to be rolling art, but a way to show off BMW's R&D Department. The 850i was one of, if not the, most technologically advanced cars in the world. Its list of industry firsts is enormous, and includes drive-by-wire, CAN-bus technology, and the first German V-12 in 50 years. But BMW forgot to install the fun. the 850i was a sales disaster. At its debut in 1989 at the Frankfurt Auto Show IAA, BMW received 35,000 orders — enough to sell out 3 years of planned production. However, once the car magazines drove it, the reviews were brutal and customers cancelled their orders. (Largely in favor of the R129-chassis Mercedes SL.) 850i sales were so poor that BMW cancelled plans to make an E31 convertible, and also killed off the planned M8, which used the McLaren F1's S70/2 640-hp V-12 with ITBs and carbon intakes. Instead, M engineered a less-expensive M8, the formula f