BMW admits to M7 possibility

Top-end M car and a Z8 replacement?

760Li: why no M7?

BMW's chairman Helmut Panke has given an insight into BMW's thinking about future models, especially at the top-end of its ranges.

He refused to rule out the possibility of the company making an M version of the 7-Series -- an M7. According to an interview with him in the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, US customers are clamouring for an M7, although, having asked the question, you can kind of see why not. Panke said that BMW had yet to make a decision, acknowledging that an M7 couldn't just be about pouring yet more horsepower into the machine. He also said that BMW was pondering how to replace the Z8 sports car -- widely seen as a flop, except perhaps in parts of California.

Panke was also asked if the gap between the top-end BMW-badged car and Rolls-Royce would be filled. Panke replied that the most expensive BMW, the 445bhp V12-powered 760Li long wheelbase which lists at £83,685, is unlikely to be overtaken in terms of price by a BMW-badged vehicle.

However, the costs of a warranty on such a car, an issue currently exercising BMW owners' wallets following a huge price increase, hardly bears thinking about.