8-Series V8's and V12's Alusil or Nikasil?

[asawadude]

Found out today that a friend of a friend is selling an '91 850i V12 cheap - I might be able to buy it for less than $20K - apparently it's a distress sale. I've seen the car before - it's all black, Dinan mods, Bremo brakes, 20" HRE wheels, auto trans, 70K miles. The friend who called me knows that I was once interested in finding an 850, but that was nearly 10 years ago. But he did get my attention as I still think the 8 series is as attractive today as it was when it first came out 15 years ago.

I'm not up to speed on the V12 engines and don't have time to do any research (at work right now). So I'm throwing this out to the diehard Bimmerphiles. If no one can answer, I'll cruise over to BF or RF tomorrow to check the 8 series forums where there are probably some FAQs.

Were the V12's Nikasil? If so, I assume the V12's have the same cylinder deterioration issues as the Nikasil M60 engines?

I know that the '95-'96 840i's also at Nikasil engines, but what about the '97 840i's? Did BMW put the Alusil engines in the '97 models concurrent with the '97 E39 540i's?

Does the 850ci have any collectors value or am I better off with an 850CSi (might be hard to find at 225 total imported)? I don't really want an 8-series, but I can't resist a good deal either... I'd much rather have an E30 or E36 M3 as a hobby vehicle.