40 Years of the BMW 7 Series #Blogpost

2017 has had its fair share of automotive milestones from the 1 millionth Porsche 911 to the 70th Anniversary of Ferrari. A milestone has been hit by automotive giant BMW recently, 40 years of the luxury barge we all know as the 7 Series. Over the years it has changed drastically, evolving into one of the worlds leading luxury vehicles alongside the Mercedes S Class and Audi A8…

E23 1977 - 1987

The E23 7 Series was introduced in 1977 to replace the outdated E3 “New Six” Saloons and thus became the flagship model. The new model was stuffed with the latest gadgets including: an on - board computer, Anti - lock Braking System (ABS) which was a first for BMW, a drivers air bag and revised front suspension. All models were powered by various Straight Six engines of varying displacement. The most common unit was the M30 Six Banger and it did the job well with displacement ranging from 2.5 - 3.2L. There were a vast array of options that an E23 customer could choose from, including an in - car celluar telephone for the busiest of businessmen. 1983 brought a much needed facelift to the flagship BMW, and a majority of those changes were made to the front end. The trademark kidney grille and bumpers were among the components updated for the 1983 model year.

The 745i

The 745i was the range topping E23 at the time and coupled with the 3.2L M102 Turbocharged Straight-Six gave it a respectable output of 252hp, the reason it was called the 745i was that the turbocharger had been thought to add to the displacement of the engine giving it the relative power of a contemporary 4.5L engine. The 745i was a problem for the South African market because BMW could not fit the turbo to the RHD vehicles since it had to be put on the right hand side. This meant that a different engine was required so it was decided that the naturally aspirated M88/3 Straight-Six be put in instead of the M102, the M88/3 also happened to be the same engine found in the E28 M5 and E24 M635CSI thus giving the South African 745i a power output of 286hp which was more than the Euro Spec 745i. Only 209 South African E23 745i’s were produced, 192 being automatic and the other 17 being manuals which made them all the more desirable.

The E23 continued production until 1986 when it was replaced by the then - new E32 7 Series, however production of the E23 in the USA and Japan continued until 1987.

Final E23 Sales resulted in a total of about 280,000.

E32 1986 - 1994

The E32 was the Second generation of 7 Series and succeeded the E23 in 1986. It also became the first BMW to feature a V12 powerplant with the option of the M70 12-Banger. It featured much of what the E23 had to offer, but in 1991 BMW gave customers the option of Xenon Headlights on the 750iL which were the first production Xenon headlights on any car in the world. The E32 also introduced the long wheelbase version of the 7 Series denoted by a capital L at the end of a model designation, hence “750iL”. This long wheelbase version gave increased legroom to those sitting in the back, this was achieved by stretching the rear doors and the body.

engines

Onto the topic of engines, the E32 was fitted with the same M30 Straight Six as the E23 but displacement was now a minimum of 3.0L and up to 3.4L. In 1991 BMW introduced the M60 V8 as an option and this model became known as the 740i, the M60 V8 was paired with a new 5-Speed ZF Automatic Transmission and power was rated at 282hp. There was also a smaller 3.0L M60 V8 that replaced the M30 Straight Six for the 730i entirely. Speaking of the aforementioned M70 V12, it produced 295hp from its 5.0L of displacement. Styling wise the E32 was the first to feature L-Shaped rear lights which were later used on the E34 5 Series, one styling feature made it easy to distinguish between 6-Cylinder and 8 or 12 Cylinder models. The grille was that feature and was narrow as standard on all 6 Cylinder vehicles, however on the more powerful 8 and 12 Cylinder modelsa wider grille was fitted as standard, customers of the 8 Cylinder and 12 Cylinder models did have the option of the narrower grille if they wished for it.

Total sales came to around the 300,000 mark

E38 1994 - 2001

The E38 replaced the E32 in 1994 and was a major advance over its predecessor with the option of curatin airbags and an in - built TV. This generation had been in development as early as 1988 and the final production version was based upon a design by Boyke Boye.

The E38, as per most 7 Series, featured a wide range of gadgets: Traction Control, the infamous headlight washers, the pioneering Xenon headlights, climate control and an EDC System. Customers also had the option of double glazed glass for better heat conservation, there was also break resistant glass and bulletproof which was only available on the protection trim line. It was also the first automobile to feature sattelite navigation name CARIN which was part of a joint development between BMW and Phillips. All models were fitted with a 5-Speed ZF Automatic Transmission.

engines

The choice of engine for the E38 was quite large with a range of Straight Six, V8 and V12 options, the most basic of these engines was the 2.8L M52B28 Six-Banger found in the 728i. The top of the range model was yet again the 750i with an enlarged M73 5.4L V12 which now produced 322hp. It wasn’t just petrol engines that were available for the E38, a range of diesels were offered for those most interested in fuel economy, this range began with the M51D25 2.5L Straight Six in 1995 and in 1998 the M67D40 was introduced having been displayed in the Z9 GT Concept at around the same time to show that diesel engines could still be sporty. The E38 continued production until 2001 and the fianl E38, a 740i, rolled off the production line on the 27th of July 2001.

Total Sales came to about 340,000.

E65/E66 2002 - 2009

The E65 7 Series replaced the E38 for the 2002 Model year and gave the 7 Series a brand new look for the 21st Century. It also happened to be the first BMW to have iDrive which was their take on the digital infotainment system and has been a part of BMW right up till now. Other features include: Flame-Surfaceing exterior Styling, a 6-Speed Automatic Transmission and Active Anti-roll bars. E65 production began in late 2001 for European markets and early 2002 for American markets both for the 2002 model year, the first model that became available for the USDM was the 745i as opposed to the more basic 730i and 730d.

The E65 had been in development since 1998 with the design being finalised in 1999. The production ready vehicle made its first appearance at the 2001 Frankfurt motor show. The rear of the car was nicknamed the “Bangle Butt” due to the elongated boot lid. The interior of the E65 was given good praise for the overall quality of the leather and wood trims, the shifter for the automatic transmission was moved from its conventional place on the center console and mounted on a stalk attached to the steering wheel. Most of the criticism of the interior were about the seat adjustment controls and the fact that it was located on the inside of the central console, the central console itself was not angled toward the driver unlike its predecessors.

The engine options for the E65 were completely new with a variety of V8 motors throughout its lifespan and a pair of V12 units too, the base 730i was fitted with the 3.0L M54B30 in the first few years and then changed to the N52B30 later in production, the latter producing a respectable 255hp. The V8 Units began at the 735i fitted with the N62B36 engine, in 2004 the 735i was replaced by the 740i which was fitted with the N62B40 V8 and continued until the end of E65 production, it produced a whisker over 300hp from 4.0L of displacement. The most powerful of the V8 E65 model range was the 750i which used the N62B48 also found in the E60/61 550i and E63 650i,this unit produced a reasonable 362hp from 4.8L of displacement. The 760i topped off the E65 range with the N73B60 V12 and produced 439hp from 6.0L of displacement. The 760i was the first BMW to feature a direct injection V12 engine. The range of diesel engines began with the 730d M57D30TU Straight Six which was later replaced by the M57D30TU2, this was a revised version of the same engine. The 740d was the first E65 to feature a diesel V8, the M67D40TU and it produced 259hp. There was a facelift in 2005 for the 2006 model year which gave the E65 an entire refresh which dropped the rear light bar and redesigned the front and rear lights to soften the look. This facelift also replaced the 740d with the 745d which came with the M67D44 V8 with an output of 295hp from 4.4L of displacement.

Alpina B7

Alpina as you may know produce sportier versions of exising BMW models and the 7 Series was no exception, so they took an E65 745i and supercharged the N62B44 engine giving it a total output of 493hp and a 0-60 time of 4.9 Seconds. It had first been shown in 2003 at the Frankfurt motor show and production began early 2004. A total of 1,114 Alpina B7’s were produced for most markets.
Production of the E65 continued until 2008.

Total Sales were around 340,000

F01 2009 - 2015

The F01 7 Series was introduced in late 2008 for the 2009 model year, it debuted at the 2008 Paris motor show, and as per every other generation, came packed with technological wonders and engineering marvels. It introduced the first Hybrid Drivetrain ever for a BMW, an 8 speed automatic transmission and a turbocharged V12 which was another first for the brand. Many features from the lower end BMW models began to come to the 7 Series such as their X-Drive AWD system that is now used in pretty much every Bimmer from 1 Series to 7. This generation also had the option of rear wheel steering and night vision with pedestrian recognition, active cruise control was available too and could stop or accelerate the car to and from a standstill. Since the F01 was fitted with cameras on the sides, front and back it could create a virtual top - down view of the vehicle to assist with parking. BMW also went off of criticism from the E65 when producing the interior by putting the transmission back into the conventional position on the central console and put the seat controls back on the sides of the seats.

Onto the topic of engines the F01 range began with the 730i which came with the N52B30 Naturally Aspirated Straight - Six and produced 255hp, the 740i sat above it fitted with the N54B30-6 Banger producing 322hp. The only V8 fitted in the F01 was found in the 750i with the N64B4400 unit and this produced 402hp with the aid of turbocharging. The top of the range 760i featured the N74B60 V12 which was turbocharged to produce 536hp, a respectable figure for a 6.0L unit. The hybrid powertrain, as mentioned came in the form of an N63 V8 coupled with an electric motor to produce 455hp which for a hybrid was pretty good.

Alpina B7

Alpina produced a B7 for the F01 generation and was based upon the 750i and went into production in 2011 after being revealed at the 2010 Chicago auto show. Alpina themselves assembled the engine of the B7 by hand and BMW were just there to put it in the bodyshell, the engine in question was a variant of the N63 4.4L Twin Turbo V8 and produced 500hp and 516lbft of torque. B7 customers also had the option of an LWB or SWB of their choosing. The turbochargers used for the B7 were larger than that of the base 750i but were still lighter than the OEM BMW parts.

For the 2012 model year the F01 was given a facelift and from an exterior standpoint BMW had given the big Seven full LED Headlights. Engines were changed all across the range, exempt the 760i/iL, with the 740i given the most major change. The N54 6 Straight Six was replaced by the new N55B30 which came with variable valve lift (aka valvetronic) but in the end was less powerful than its predecessor with a loss of six ponies. The hybrid 7 Series went through a major engine as well with the N63 V8 being swapped out for the more refined N55B30 Straight Six, this loss of two cylinders meant that the engine had over 100hp less than the N63 but the Electric motor produced a further 55hp for a grand total of 349hp. The Alpina B7 was given a revised version of the existing N63 V8 and had gained a further 32hp in the process. Another change to note included the standardisation of the 8 Speed Automatic Transmission for all models.

F01 production continued for a further three years before ending in mid 2015.

G11 2015 - Present

The G11 replaced the F01 generation in July 2015 and continues production as I am typing.

This current generation features Carbon Fibre reinforced polymer which had been seen on the i series of vehicles to be used for the major structural components of the car. Delving further into the hybrid market the 740e was introduced for 2016 as a plug - in hybrid for the model line - up in a bid to introduce them to all other model ranges. The aforementioned Carbon Fibre reinforced polymer was used in conjunction with aluminium and high - tensile Steel to reduce the kerb weight of the G11 by 40kg over its predecessor. iDrive was given a major update for the current 7 Series and could now detect hand gestures via a 3D scanner and each gesture could be allocated a function, however the conventional way of using a knob to scroll through options was still there to use. The cruise control found in the G11 was able to read speed limits and adjust accordingly without input from a driver.

The engine line - up has been interesting so far, the base 730i comes with the B58B20 inline four Turbo and produces a respectable 255hp. Above that is the 740i with the B58B30 Straight Six unit producing 326hp with the aid of a twin scroll turbocharger, the 740e on the other hand is powered by the same B58B30 found in the 730i but with the aid of an electric motor, has an additional 67hp for a grand total of 322hp. The only V8 found in the range is inside of the 750i where the N63B44 unit produces 443hp from its 4.4L of displacement. Putting the icing on the cake is the M760Li which features the largest V12 used in a BMW, the N74B66 unit displaces 6.6L and is also found in the Rolls - Royce Ghost/Dawn. Total output for the turbocharged 12 Cylinder is 601hp. There are an option of three diesel straight sixes and at the top resides the 750d with its quad - turbo unit, this produces 394hp.

Alpina B7

Alpina have made yet another B7, this time for the G11 and it is still very fast. The motor used inside is the venerable N63 V8 Twin Turbo unit which has been tweaked by the boffins over at Alpina to produce 600hp, this means a 0-60 time of 3.7 Seconds and onto a top speed over 200mph. As the B7 had a lighter engine than the M760Li so it is far nimbler and handles better overall. The G11 B7 has been fitted with Xdrive AWD and there will be no options for RWD. The latest B7 made its worldwide debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Production of the B7 began in September of 2016…

In conclusion

The 7 Series has been around for Forty years this year, this is a huge milestone for BMW as luxury cars tend not to last too long on the Domestic market, however much like Audi and Mercedes it has managed to keep the 7 Series relatively affordable for the average businessman and still provide an element of fun. So to all 7 Series owners out there I wish you all the best of luck with your ownership of these stunning barges!

Thank you for reading everybody and I hope you enjoyed learning about the 7 Series as much as I did :D

Pokecraft The Car Catcher
Lover of Anime and Cars alike

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