About

About the E31 Registry

The E31 Registry represents the dedicated worldwide BMW 8 Series owners who believe that the BMW 8 Series will become one of the pre-eminent sought-after collector cars from the late 20th century. To that end, thousands of hours of research and data collection have occurred to ensure future preservation efforts.

Vision

Provide a centralized community supporting the documentation and preservation of the 1989-99 BMW 8 Series (engineering platform E31).

Mission

8Coupe.Com provides centralized advocacy, information continuity and support of BMW 8 Series ownership through a secure online repository.

Goals

  • Build an extensive database containing:
    • complete production information and statistics of E31's worldwide
    • individual car details and service history
    • archival photography and marketing collateral
  • Register 10% of all E31's produced in the E31 Registry
    Advocate and assist present and future BMW 8 Series owners

Background and Timeline

  • Founded September 1997 by Bert Smith - Reno, Nevada
  • Number of 8er's registered as of August 1, 2002: 28
  • Transitioned August 2002 to Jud Spencer - Denver, Colorado
  • Transitioned August 2010 to Reinhard Wolf - Giessen, Germany
  • Number of worldwide 8er's registered as of May 15, 2014: 2,324
  • E31 Registry Team: 14 volunteers worldwide
  • Primary focus to date:
    • Collecting data (VIN’s, door tag, window stickers, build sheets, histories, etc.)
    • Help generate positive press about the 8 Series
    • Assist new and existing BMW 8 Series owners with technical and historical request
    • Inventory 100% of all 30,621 8 Series build sheets (completed 10/2006)
    • Catalog 25% of the 30,621 8 Series produced through the 2005 BMW 8 Series Inventory Project (read more here)

Owner Enthusiasm

By Steve C. - Multiple 8er Owner/Enthusiast

The E31 finally gets a list. Thanks for making it available.

So much is misunderstood about the 8 series because it is so far out of the mainstream. Most people simply haven't had an opportunity to drive one, but if they did, you wouldn't hear as much negativity as you do about them. The E31's mission and purpose has never been understood by the masses. From BMW's perspective, it represented the pinnacle of their engineering ability at the time it was introduced. Unfortunately, they chose to go way up-market with it and it became totally unaffordable for most of the car buying population. From a driver's perspective, however, this model represents the best BMW grand touring coupe money can buy. And it remains so today. And better yet, great examples are becoming available on the used car market at reasonably affordable prices.

Drving an 8'er is sheer pleasure as the car is incredibly stable, solid, and powerful. Whether you're loafing around town in traffic, or barrelling down the interstate at 90 mph, you always feel in complete control, with vast amounts of reserve power always available at your beckon.

Is the 8 the best handling BMW? No, of course not. It was never intended to be.

Is it the fastest BMW? Well, if top end matters, then arguably the 850CSi very well may be.

Is it one of the safest BMW's? Very likely. It's a solid, heavy car, and will win most impacts with anything short of a Suburban.

Is it the cheapest BMW to maintain? No, it is an expensive car to maintain and insure.

Is it the best looking, most stylish BMW ever? Without a doubt.

March 31, 1999 - Roadfly.org

Related Articles

10,000 8-series cars in the 8Coupe.com archives

Less than a year after passing the 9,000 cars and the 30% archived threshold we are proud to announce having reached another milestone. As of this month we are in the 5 digit range and now hold data for more than 10,000 8-series cars in the 8Coupe archives.
Only a few hundred cars need to be added to achieve yet another long term goal - 1/3 of the entire production. We hope to be able to surpass this number during Summer 2014.

This past year saw near linear increases based on last year´s…
Christoph
April 27, 2014 at 8:00 PM

More than 6.000 cars in archives - 20% milestone passed

The Registry Volunteer Team is pleased to announce that we have reached two milestones during the past month, namely passing the 6000 archived cars mark in November and the 20% milestone of cataloging the 30,621 8er's produced by BMW AG earlier this month.

As part of the Registry mission to collect information for future preservation efforts CC61020, a Switzerland based 840CiA was cataloged as the 6,124th 8er out of 30,621 produced thus marking the 20% threshold.

This means the archive now has at…
Christoph
December 7, 2010 at 8:00 PM

Brian Eales named new E31 Registry Contact for USA

Brian Eales named new E31 Registry Contact for USA

Effective immediately Brian Eales will become the new USA E31 Registry Agent. Mr. Eales is assuming the USA responsibility from Jud Spencer, who is retiring after 8 years of service to the global BMW 8 Series community.

Mr. Eales is an active Kansas member of the 8 series scene since purchasing his BMW 840CiA 06/2001 and the overall BMW community since the late 1990’s. His positive energy for the E31 led to his current duties as a co-moderator…
Christoph
September 17, 2010 at 8:00 PM