Price + spec news – BMW M760Li and V12 Excellence – the new BMW flagship

BMW flagship

It must be quite an honour to be named the flagship of an esteemed car brand. The new BMW M760Li models have this bestowed upon them. It must be quite a joy to purchase the ultimate rendition of BMW.  Well, the BMW flagship is now available, to order, in South Africa.  

Sure, the BMW i8 is getting all the sportscar looks and could be considered the BMW flagship car, though as biggest and most technologically-advanced BMW, the M760Li takes top spot.

There are 2 distinct models of M760Li – the sporty one is named M760Li, while the luxury one is called “V12 Excellence”.

Both have a new design 4-pipe exhaust nestled into the bumper, and V12 lettering to the C-pillars (in V12 tradition) indicate what lurks as under-bonnet power. Lift it, and you’ll read M Performance on the engine cover.

BMW M760Li xDrive

For those who also wondered why BMW has no direct rival to the Mercedes-AMG S65, wonder no more.  With previous 7s, BMW offered a 760Li, though a 760Li with an M Sport package was the sportiest 7 your money could buy, this side of an Alpina.

With the new car, BMW issues the M760Li – for those wondering where the M7 is, this is as close as its going to (most likely) get. It is one of the BMW M Performance products, taking the centre slot between BMWs and BMW Ms, as the M240i has done, for example, between 230i and M2.

With the BMW M760Li xDrive, you get a bootlid badge marking this as the M760Li, and it is significant, as it is the 1st time an M badge appears on the back of a 7 Series (well, officially appears).  The front fender side also gets an M badge, and the wheels and even brake calipers get M’d.

BMW M760Li xDrive V12 Excellence

This luxury one gets the Design Pure Excellence package treatment, seeing chrome lashing as double-lines across the front bumper, extra chrome as a looped border round the exhaust outlets, chrome along the sides, as window frames, and on wheels.

Instead of an M760Li badge on the bootlid, only V12 appears.  What, no M760Li rear badge?  Not even 760Li?  No 7.  No.  V12.  Only.  This causes a bit of an identity crisis, isn’t it?  It is an M760Li but on the back it says V12.  Discreet, yes, but un-BMW not to badge it properly.  This is the BMW xDrive V12… erm, that doesn’t work.

xDrive + V12 + turbo

The xDrive is for 4-wheel-drive, being the 1st time BMW builds a sedan with only xDrive:  no rear-wheel drive option, which makes sense in converting all that V12 into acceleration.  Having reviewed the previous-generation BMW 760Li, all that torque meant rear-wheel wheelspin in the R2-million luxury sedan was all too easy… also unbefitting, and unwanted.  xDrive cures this.

Just as well, as the new car has even more power and torque… obviously.  BMW built its 1st V12 in decades for the 750i and 750Li of years ago, with 5.0 V12.  It then moved to the 760Li with 6.0 V12, before adding a turbo to it for the preceding car, which gave 400kW and 750Nm. 

For the M760Li these arrive, thanks to a 6.6-litre V12 turbo, at 448kW and 800Nm.  A 6.6 V12 turbo… like Rolls-Royce Ghost, Wraith and Dawn, wherein a 6.6 V12 turbo engine sits.  Surely they wouldn’t… or would they?  BMW owns Rolls-Royce.

Quickest V12 sedan, quickest BMW
 
The xDrive V12 combination means the flagship is both the quickest-accelerating V12 sedan on the market, and the quickest-accelerating BMW production model ever.  0-100km/h is a claimed 3.7 seconds.

Market competitors

If you’re the likely buyer for a V12 long-wheelbase luxury power car, you’re likely interested in reading about market competitors in your field of business.

For the BMW M760Li flagship, rivals are the Mercedes-AMG S65, using a 6.0 V12 but with a bit more power (450kW) and a full helping more torque (1000Nm) though not all of it is usable, as it is rear-wheel drive.  Now that AMG 4Matic 4-wheel-driven models are being rolled out in V6 and V8, perhaps the new V12 AMG will also be 4Matic.  It is priced at R 3.2 million.

For a more luxury / less sporty approach, the BMW V12 Excellence has the mainstay Mercedes-Benz S600 to contend with.  Its 6.0 V12 turbo gets 390kW and 830Nm, and has an asking price of just over R2.4m.

Alternatively, the super-exclusive Mercedes-Maybach S600, with the same drivetrain but more length for rear-seat leg stretch-outs, and even more pampering luxury, is marketed at R2.8m.

Other 12-cylinder options are the Audi A8 L W12 (down on performance and image) for R2.25m, or the Bentley Flying Spur W12, for which you’ll need to spend R4m.  A Rolls-Royce Ghost.  Add a few more m’s.

These are the only 12-cylinder cars – others like the Maserati Quattroporte and Jaguar XJ use V8 engines, which, let’s be honest, are just not the same as having that “V12” badge and smoothness.

Price for the BMW flagship

Listing the standard equipment on the BMW M760Li models would be like thanking the guests and participants at Her Majesty’s birthday celebration… so rather than single some out or omit mentioning others, suffice to say the term “BMW flagship” is totally apt for this car. 

Options are reduced to items like Executive Lounge Seating, different wheels, BMW Individual full Merino leather interior, interior trims, and very few equipment options.  Even the model prices are even:

BMW M760Li xDrive	R 2 602 336
BMW M760Li xDrive V12 Excellence	R 2 602 336