The rumor mill has started churning out whispers of a BMW M760i variant of the latest 7 Series. This rumored M760i would be powered by the 6.6 liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine that comes in the Rolls Royce Ghost and Wraith. At least that’s the powerplant that fed the previous 760Li a generation ago. Considering that the previous 7 Series had a V12 variant, it only makes sense that this one will as well and dubbing it the M760i would be the perfect way to pitch it.
We’ve made this claim before, that the 7 Series was missing a true performance variant outside of the Alpina B7. BMW has always squashed rumors of a true M7 for various reasons, one of which being the Alpina B7’s existence. Alpina works closely with BMW to consistently produce its own performance variants of the 7 Series and they are always excellent. However, Alpina-tuned cars are largely luxury-oriented cars with added power, so the Alpina B7 isn’t much different, in terms of scope, from a very powerful 7 Series. True M Division cars are much sharper vehicles, so we’ve always made the argument that BMW should create some sort of M variant of the 7 Series to give it something that could properly match the Mercedes-AMG S63 and Audi S8.
However, another reason against an M7 from BMW is that the M Division is more about lightweight performance cars, so a 7 Series wouldn’t really fit the mold. But an M760i wouldn’t be a true M Division car, so it would be okay. It would be in the same mold as the M235i and X4 M40i, not a true M Division product and I think that works perfectly for the BMW 7 Series.
The new 7 Series is a fantastic automobile, one filled with incredible technology and superb luxury. But it’s also a better driver’s car than people give it credit for and it has some serious lightweight technology baked into it, such as its Carbon Core technology. So making it a touch more driver-focused, by maybe adding slight stiffer suspension, bigger rubber at each corner and a stonking V12 would make for one helluva fun 7 Series. It would bring back memories of why the 7 Series was used in movies like the Transporter and Tomorrow Never Dies. Those 7 Series were just as much of driver’s cars as they were luxury cars, so something like an M760i could bring that back without inviting the hooliganism that comes with being a full-on M Division product.
We’ve constantly argued that an M7 should be made and BMW has been adamant that it shouldn’t be. BMW, if you’re reading this, we can compromise and think that a BMW M760i would be a great idea. Please make it, BMW, pretty please?
