BMW says goodbye to the V12 engine: the last “sevens” will be released with it in the summer

By Lukas Müller On Apr 22, 2022

The era of 12-cylinder BMW engines, which began in 1987, is coming to an end: the Bavarian company has announced the release of a special farewell series of 12 M760i xDrive The Final V12 sedans for the US market.

Developed in the mid-1980s, BMW needed a factory-rated M70 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 to compete with Mercedes-Benz in the top echelon of the premium segment. In 1987, this engine was the first to be tested on the “seven” BMW of the E32 generation in the 750i and 750iL modifications. Power by modern standards was not very large – 300 hp, but the smooth operation and noble sound turned out to be ideal.

BMW 7 Series generation E32 with M70 engine

Subsequently, the M70 in a modified form was installed on the first generation 8 Series coupe and the legendary McLaren F1 supercar, in which it produced more than 600 “horses”. The M70 was followed by more modern naturally aspirated V12s, indexed M73 and N73. BMW did not dare to develop a diesel V12.

The modern N74 12-cylinder engine has been known since 2008 and was originally equipped with two turbochargers to improve environmental performance. Apart from the BMW 7, it is assembled by Rolls-Royce and for UK models it will likely continue production, but the V12-powered BMW 7 Series will say goodbye this year and will no longer be available in Europe.

Modern BMW M760Li xDrive generation G11/G12

recently, the V12 has only been offered for the long-wheelbase M760Li xDrive sedan and produces 609 hp from a 6.6-liter displacement. – the same as in the USA, but in Europe, after the restyling of the current “seven” in 2019, the power of the N74 engine was reduced to 585 hp for environmental reasons. The state-of-the-art BMW M760Li xDrive accelerates to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, with a top speed limited to 250 km/h. The current price is 14,040,000 conventional units. In the first three quarters of last year, only 24 “sevens” with V12 were sold recently (we don't have data for the full year yet).

Modern BMW M760Li xDrive generation G11/G12

Yesterday, the American press service of BMW announced that in June of this year the last V12 for cars of the Bavarian brand will enter the market, they will be installed on the “sevens” of the anniversary series The Final V12 with the appropriate nameplates and plates. In addition, cars of the Final V12 series will receive specially designed 20-inch wheels, extended standard equipment and exclusive BMW Individual parts. Prices have not yet been announced, the usual “seven” with V12 costs in the US from $157,800. Whether there will be the same / similar special series for the last time is unknown – the Russian press service of BMW did not respond to our request on this matter.

By the way, the V12 did not help BMW much in the fight against Mercedes-Benz: last year in the USA, the “seven” sold 7,706 units, and the S-class – 14,282 units, and this despite the fact that the Mercedes-Benz El B Last year, Benz suffered from a global shortage of microchips, causing queues for some in-demand models to stretch for two years.

This year, BMW will introduce a new generation of the 7 Series, and the flagship version this time around will not be a 12-cylinder, but an all-electric one called the i7.