The BMW M73B54 V12 engine with a cubic displacement of 5.4L succeeded the M70B50 5.0L V12 in the 850Ci in autumn 1994 and was henceforth used solely in conjunction with the ZF 5HP30 5-speed Steptronic gearbox until the BMW 8-series production ended in May 1999.
The M73 850Ci was built in two LHD variants only: EG41 for the ECE market and EG43 for the North American customers
The M73 850Ci is the lowest production 8-series model and with only 1218 produced units can be considered "rarer" than the CSi, despite being in production for a longer term. Following the German and US market the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Mexico turned out to be the most successful marketing regions. This was mainly due to the invention of high spec special editions:
Platinum (98/99 - 61 cars) and Alpina (98/99 - 10 cars) editions for the UAE & Mexico Luxury (95/96 - 38 cars) for Mexico.
The last M73 BMW 850Ci leaving the assembly line was CC41891, a Platinum Edition car for the UAE and the only one in the exterior colour Fashionrot 2.