RE: BMW 760Li announced

RE: BMW 760Li announced

Saturday 13th February 2016

BMW M760Li announced

600hp, 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 M760Li flicks vees to engine downsizers. And Alpina.



In one of those spooky coincidences that happens from time to time in the week Alpina announced the xDrive US version of its 7 Series based B7 BMW has confirmed its own flagship model. And if you thought a 608hp, V8-powered Alpina was impressive you might want to hold off ordering until you've had chance to digest the following.

Best hope the cup holders can cope with 3.9sec 0-62mph
Best hope the cup holders can cope with 3.9sec 0-62mph
Although the 760Li has 'only' 600hp and, at 3.9 seconds, trails the Alpina by three tenths to 62mph it plays a far more impressive trump card in terms of quantity of cylinders and cubic capacity. Which, in the status-driven world of uber saloons, is going to matter a lot more. Yes, the 760Li is a V12. And what a V12.

Claimed as an all-new M Performance motor, the fact this mighty sounding 6.6-litre engine shares its 6,592cc capacity with the turbocharged V12s in the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Wraith offers a clue as to its origins.

It's a mighty sounding engine too, the demands of the Rolls-Royce applications meaning huge attention to minimising NVH and maximising durability; the closed deck cylinder heads are attached via bolts reaching through to the base of the crankcase, the aluminium pistons are iron coated, the main bearings double bolted and the con-rods and crank forged. The two monoscroll turbos - one for each exhaust manifold - are cooled by indirect intercoolers supplied coolant by standalone air-to-water heat exchangers all to the end of reducing lag and improving response. Best hope your chauffeur is wearing thin-soled driving slippers and not hobnail boots if your pre-dinner cocktail is to remain in its glass and not on your lap.

Proof that downsizing really is for losers
Proof that downsizing really is for losers
Putting all that power to the road is a four-wheel drive drivetrain based around the familiar eight-speed automatic gearbox. Air suspension branded Executive Drive Pro and tuned specifically for the V12 flagship features all manner of active cleverness, including ability to 'read' the road surface and set the dampers, anti-roll bars and spring rates accordingly. Four-wheel steering and the part-carbon construction should help the big daddy 7 Series handle more like a 3er.

All very impressive, the 7 Series now able to mix with the heavyweights of the luxo-barge class. Pricing is yet to be confirmed but, even with the epic depreciation characteristic of such cars, it'll be a while before we'll be seeing it on Shed Of The Week. To keep you going a selection of sub-£5K 7 Series can be found here...

 

 



Author
Discussion

Usget

Original Poster:

5,426 posts

210 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
So is this a 760 or an M760 (as the badge would suggest) making it the first official M-badged 7 ever?

Either way, I love the idea of a supersonic 7 (but I think I prefer the look of the Alpina...)

SirSquidalot

4,039 posts

164 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
This is dictator levels of awesome!

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Stunning interior and engine. However it is just another pig nosed ugly beemer from the front. Disgusting!!

GTEYE

2,092 posts

209 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Usget said:
So is this a 760 or an M760 (as the badge would suggest) making it the first official M-badged 7 ever?

Either way, I love the idea of a supersonic 7 (but I think I prefer the look of the Alpina...)
Its an M performance model, in much the same way that the M135/M235 aren't really proper M cars either.

Impressive spec nonetheless!

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
That's more like it. I felt like recently the 7-series had been neglected after the hay day of the 750iL in Tomorrow Never Dies.

A10

633 posts

98 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
That amount of legroom in the back would make me feel weird, I think.

TurboHatchback

4,151 posts

152 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
I want one. Maybe in about 15 years they'll have depreciated to my budget (the three that they'll actually sell in the first place).

Morningside

24,110 posts

228 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Why don't they do a non stretched V12 version?

Roger Woods

643 posts

210 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
A few years back I was working in Saudi and got chatting to the Expat manager of BMW in Riyadh, he told me he sold 760's by the 100's to the Saudis and mostly cash............

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
k-ink said:
Stunning interior and engine. However it is just another pig nosed ugly beemer from the front. Disgusting!!
Subjective, and not flattered by (those) photos.

In the flesh they look good, and have bags of road presence.

epom

11,398 posts

160 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Ideal for just pottering around with a horsebox smile

Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
epom said:
Ideal for just pottering around with a horsebox smile
Would make a great tow car if it's type approved.

matrignano

4,345 posts

209 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Sounds like it's the M5's V8 with an extra 4 cylinders?

Dockers90

2 posts

133 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-spottedykyw...

so yesterday we weren't going to see anymore V10 saloons, maybe so but we just got a V12 instead!

SamR380

725 posts

119 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
720lb.ft is appropriate for exactly which kind of wafting? The ocean-liner kind?

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Yay, power wars. Good on them.

Matt UK

17,649 posts

199 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Appears to be adequate.

SturdyHSV

10,083 posts

166 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
Main bearings are double bolted? So presumably 4-bolts each, like a small block chevy from the 60s? Even a lowly Mustang will give you 6-bolt mains...

Aluminium pistons coated in iron... Presumably it's an aluminium block then as well? By my limited understanding aluminium pistons wouldn't survive in an aluminium bore, hence the coating to create a barrier. So it's just a necessity as opposed to anything fancy?

I don't know, it just seems like they're listing details of the engine as if to impress your associate at the 19th hole, whereas those things aren't in and of themselves anything special?

Does it also have 12 iridium spark plugs and 32psi of air in the tyres? It's just inane detail given for people without any contextual understanding to make it sound more impressive.

Edited by SturdyHSV on Friday 12th February 12:55

j90gta

563 posts

133 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
With their I range of cars and their ultra-low emissions, I suppose BMW can build politically incorrect monsters like this. However who would actually buy one in the UK? I bet this model doesn't even reach our shores.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Friday 12th February 2016
quotequote all
j90gta said:
With their I range of cars and their ultra-low emissions, I suppose BMW can build politically incorrect monsters like this. However who would actually buy one in the UK? I bet this model doesn't even reach our shores.
I have seen a couple of 760Li cars around in the past so I'm sure a few will be here.