While fame can be both a blessing and a curse, there’s no denying that successful actors have it good. Apart from earning millions after every movie, some of them also enjoy occasional perks. Such was the case in the mid-1990s when Pierce Brosnan received a “little present, a little gift from BMW.”
It wasn’t so little since Mr. James Bond was gifted 188.2 inches of BMW grand touring excellence. He took the keys to a shiny new 8 Series Coupe in the 850 Ci specification. It happened following the success of Goldeneye, which featured the Z3. The roadster’s inclusion in the movie was part of a three-film deal between BMW and MGM. Subsequent movies – Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough – featured the 750iL and the stunning Z8, respectively.
A Redditor posted a video from an episode of The Late Night with Conan O’Brien show that originally aired on February 7, 1997, featuring the Irish actor. In this episode, he tells the story of how he was caught speeding in Idaho on the very first day of shooting for Dante’s Peak. Despite reaching a speed of 120 mph (193 km/h), he was let off with just a warning. In exchange for letting him off the hook, the police officers wanted to know how the Goldeneye film crew pulled off the bungee jump, shot at the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland.
His excuse for going way above the speed limit? “I didn’t realize it because the car was so good, so smooth!” On the first-generation 8 Series, BMW engineered the gorgeous coupe to automatically raise the windows after reaching 100 mph (161 km/h) to reduce wind noise. The 850 Ci superseded the 850i but there was a period when both were in production.
For a while, BMW made the 850 Ci with two different engines, the M70 and M73. Pierce Brosnan had a newer model, so his car came with the bigger and more powerful 5.4-liter (instead of 5.0-liter) unit.
We’ve found what looks like an old ad with the car, stating it’s a 1996 model with 49,820 miles (80,177 kilometers) on the clock. We’ve reached out to the owner in California, but chances are we won’t get a response.
