New V12-Powered 760i and 760Li Revealed

[JoshCalkins]

New BMW 760i

BMW's new 760i and 760Li 7-Series models were unveiled this week, and it seems the company did not bow to pressure to reduce the engine size. The enactment of the European Union's EU5 emissions standard this year caused many to believe that the flagship 760 models would be equipped with smaller engines than the 6.0-liter V12 that powered the previous generation model. Well, BMW kept the cylinder count, and the 6.0-liter displacement is still the same, and the new engine is even more powerful, featuring 536 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque over the previous model's 439 and 440, respectively. BMW isn't ignoring the EU5 standard, though. The new 760i uses 4.5% less fuel than the old one. Not a giant decrease, but very respectable considering the power increase.

The 760i's New V12 Engine

The new V12 is completely different from the old V12 and has been newly designed from the bottom up. The design change is most evident in the torque curve, as all 553 lb-ft become available at 1,500 RPM, whereas the outgoing engine hit peak out put just below 4,000 RPM. This helped the new 760i drastically reduce its acceleration time, making 0-to-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, 0.9 seconds faster than the old model.

New BMW 760i

The 760i, being the premium 7-Series model, will be decked out with all sorts of gadgets and options, including all those that helped the 7-Series win awards for its technology. Official pricing hasn't been released, but, if the price increase of the new 750 models over last years is similar to the increase of the 760i's price, it will cost in teh neighborhood of 130,000 USD.