A 1990 BMW 850i previously owned by Michael Jordan was sold on Monday via Bring a Trailer.
The winning bidder was a BaT user named Murcie27, whose $108,723 offer beat a bid of $107,700 by user morgmr. According to the item’s listing, MJ’s former car generated a total of 112,705 views with 2,783 watchers. The first bid on the car was $23,000 on January 1st.
MJ’s ex-car
Jordan acquired the German-made car brand from the Motor Werks Auto Group car dealer in Barrington, Illinois. The first generation 8-series car is painted in Mauritius Blue metallic color and is set on 17-inch AC Schnitzer wheels. It has pop-up headlights, fog lights, and a power-operated sunroof.
Inside, its power-adjustable seats are covered in Light Parchment leather with matching carpets and door panels. Other interior features include a cassette stereo, an onboard computer, and a dual-zone climate control system. The V-12 car only has 30,000 miles (48,280 km) on its odometer, including 22,000 miles by its current owner.
The BMW 850i is powered by a 5.0 liter, V12 engine and packs 296 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, all of which are sent to its rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. When it was brand new, the manufacturer declared that it could go from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds. But of course, perhaps the best feature of the car that gives it its true value is its Michael Jordan-themed license plate, “M AIR J.”
MJ had a thing for vanity license plates
This is one of many cool license plates owned by the Chicago Bulls legend. In fact, Jordan’s penchant for customized plates began with his first car, which had a license plate dedicated to his childhood idol, Magic Johnson.
“I liked him (Magic) when I was in high school,” said Jordan during his 1992 Playboy interview. “They used to call me Magic Jordan. My first car had a license plate with Magic Jordan on it. It was a 1976 Grand Prix.”
Other MJ cars had license plates like “Jump 23” ( 1984 Corvette C4), Two Trey (Range Rover HSE), and, of course, “AIR” (on a Porsche 993.) MJ also had a 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S, which he lost in a golf bet. That car’s license plate was “MCL JRDN.”
However, “M AIR J” was probably Michael’s favorite among his vanity plates because he had at least one other car with the same plate number. That car was a black 1992 Ferrari 512 TR with “M-AIR-J” as its license plate.
According to GQ, this was MJ’s first Ferrari, and Jordan bought this car as a gift to himself after winning his first championship in 1991.
