Renner Projekts is a bespoke restomod builder with an emphasis on classic German cars. One of its very first creations, a heavily modified BMW 850i, just went up for sale and failed to sell at auction after a high bid of $227,000. Here’s what the seller was unwilling to part with for nearly a quarter of a million bucks.
Originally, the car you see here started life as an 850i with a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V12 engine. Today, this BMW 8-Series sports a 4.9-liter V8 pulled out of a 2002 BMW M5. According to Renner, it now develops some 485 hp while remaining unboosted.
To accomplish that feat, Renner rebuilt the entire engine, added ARP rod bearings, replaced timing components, and improved airflow with components on both the intake and the exhaust side of the compression chamber. A six-speed manual transmission sends power to the rear wheels only. It didn’t stop at the drivetrain though.
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The braking system include pads, rotors, and calipers from an E60 M5 at the front and the same from an E39 M5 at the rear. The interior is also improved with updated upholstery, a ZHP-style shifter, dual climate control, and an Alcantara headliner. A “Projekt 8” plaque sits between the two front seats to denote the car’s significance.
This car isn’t without its fair share of criticism though. Commenters in the auction thread noted how the odometer indicates just 38k miles. That’s far short of what a CarFax report says as it indicates over 80k miles back in the mid-2000s. That’s due to a number of factors including the fact that Renner purchased the 8-Series with 95k miles on the odometer and then updated it with a gauge cluster from a BMW 840 that had just 34k miles on it. Total mileage is unknown.
Some questioned the validity of the bidding near the end of the auction on Bring A Trailer as two relatively unknown accounts ended up bidding the car up late in the game from around 100k to its final bid before the reserve wasn’t met. Regardless of why it didn’t sell, we’re surprised to see that Renner didn’t accept that price.
