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Michael Jordan has a fantastic car collection. He has owned Corvettes, Ferraris, and possibly a Bugatti. He is especially fond of his Porsches. Jordan is not known for collecting British cars such as Aston Martins, Lotuses, or Jaguars. So where does his car collection intersect with James Bond? The BMW section.

In 1991, Michael Jordan won the first NBA title of his first three-peat. But he was already one of the most famous players on the court, and already had his Nike sponsorship. Before his Ferrari or Corvette days, his Airness celebrated by buying himself a 1991 BMW 850i. The huge coupe had a 5.0-liter V12 and a six-speed manual transmission. He also optioned it with a “parchment” colored white leather interior and it was finished in “Mauritius” metallic blue paint.

Longtime Michael Jordan fans will remember this as the iconic 90s supercar with the pop-up headlights that wore the unforgettable “M AIR J” plates. There’s a classic photo of MJ stopping on his way to opening day at Wrigley Field to sign an autograph for a police officer, through the front window of his 850i.

Basketball star Michael Jordan sits in his BMW 850i and signs an autograph for a police officer during Wrigley's field opening day 1993.
Michael Jordan’s 1991 BMW 850i | Timonere via Getty Images

Michael Jordan probably put 8,000 miles on his BMW before selling it in 1995. It just came up for sale on the Bring a Trailer auction site, wearing MJ’s vanity plates and with sales paperwork with his signature. It went for $108,723.

So how does James Bond fit in to all of this? 1995’s Goldeneye was Pierce Brosnan’s debut as James Bond. And as often happened, when the franchise switched actors a car company tried hard to get Agent 007 to switch cars. BMW must have paid an arm and a leg to debut its 1996 Z3 convertible in the film.

Blue grand touring coupe by BMW, parked on the road with trees visible in the background.
Michael Jordan’s 1991 BMW 850i | Bring a Trailer

The Z3 was set to be a big seller in markets such as North America. So the product placement was wise. But the little roadster was far from a quintessential Bond car. How do I know this? When BMW gifted Pierce Brosnan a car, it went with its V-12-powered grand tourer, a silver-on-silver 850ci. (BMW changed the model’s name from 850i to 850ci in the Fall of 1993).

According to Brosnan, he took the car to Idaho when he was filming 1997’s Dante’s Peak. And it got him in some trouble. A local police officer that Brosnan refers to only as, “Spike” clocked him doing 120 mph. Spike and the police chief came to the film set to talk to Brosnan. His excuse? “I didn’t realize it because the damn car was so good–so smooth.” And of course, he didn’t get a ticket. It seems the guys just wanted to chat with James Bond.

Learn about how Jay Leno bought two different James Bonds’ first car, or see Pierce Brosnan’s speeding warning story in the video below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.