BMW 760Li 2003 Review

Shopping in the rarefied dealerships of the super rich is a rude lesson in the law of diminishing returns. Does a $332,400 BMW 760Li represent the same value for money as five Holden Caprices? Can it possibly impart six times the sheer driving pleasure of the Ford Falcon XR8?

Of course not.

That's not the question. Can you get the NASA-esque attention to detail, the scientifically precise build quality, the voluminous features list, or the top notch road manners and performance for less money?

Same answer.

People with a lazy $300,000-plus to spend on a means of transport don't measure value for money in the same way as a person shopping in the $50,000 bracket. They're buying an extension of their luxuriant, opulent way of life, an expression of their success. From this perspective the BMW 760Li is as luxurious and as opulent as the BMW brand gets.

BMW's 5.1m luxury saloon casts an imposing shadow on the Australian landscape. Its distinctive styling has been the subject of much debate, and regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, its uniqueness and presence cannot be denied. BMW says its customers like to stand out, like to have cutting edge in both technology and design.

The 760Li is the latest and last variant to join the E65/66 7 Series range in Australia. It arrived in April 2003, and joins two short wheelbase versions - the 735i and 745i - and one other stretched wheelbase model - the 745Li.

The 760Li is differentiated from its 'cheaper' siblings with extensive chrome highlighting on the exterior, unique 19inch alloy wheels and a subtle but no less intimidating 'V12' badge on its rump.

That's right, 12 cylinders of aggression rest under the bonnet, hollowed out to 6.0-litres capacity and mixing fire, fuel and air to produce 327kW and 600Nm of thrust. It's enough to propel the 2.2-ton sedan from rest to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds, and top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h.

This engine is the first from BMW with direct injection - fuel injectors spray fuel straight into the combustion chamber instead of the intake manifold. BMW claims this improves the engine's thermal efficiency, producing more power and torque.

In real world driving the 760Li demands a high level of driver respect, but not for the reasons you'd expect. With almost every active safety gadget under the sun, including stability control, corner brake control, brake-force control, traction control, etc... it's as dynamically safe as BMW could make it. It's the rate at which this low flying Lear jet piles on the speed that realigns your senses, and makes a mockery of highway overtaking.

The V12 has almost 90 percent of peak torque on tap right across the useable rev range and accelerates quicker than you'll initially expect, even from a starting point of 80km/h behind that 'one-owner' HR Holden. The 760 is so blisteringly quick and responsive, it's the closest we've come to a motorcycle for that zip-out, zip-in overtake. The six-speed automatic gearbox is seamless and deliberate in its shifts, dropping to the right cog cleanly and smoothly - no double changing, or second guessing that hinders some of the BMW's major rivals.

Perhaps the Mercedes-Benz S600L is quicker, with its twin turbocharged V12 belting out 368kW and 700Nm. Which raises an interesting question: Does someone shopping for a circa-$350k luxury sedan care that the BMW model has 10 percent less power and 17 percent less torque than the Mercedes model?

Sure, the 7 Series has a six speed automatic gearbox compared to the Benz's five-speeder, which must account for some of the performance deficit, but we still think there's an element of 'mine's bigger than yours' even at this high finance end of auto alley.

BMW claims a combined city/highway fuel economy figure of 11.4litres/100km for the 760Li if the throttle is treated with respect, however lead foots will exceed this. CarPoint tested the 760Li for a day in the hill country north-west of Melbourne and even our boot stomping driving style only managed 15 litres/100km. The V12 prefers premium unleaded, though knock sensors allow for regular unleaded if the situation requires.

It's a little easier to understand the appeal of cars like the 760Li from the inside, admittedly a position few will ever get to experience. Once underway the 760Li eats the road with such composure and control that it's simply too easy to exceed the highly regulated and poorly applied urban speed limits without realising.

The limo's ride quality is sublimely sweet, beaten for luxury only by the Mercedes S-class. One area the Benz can't match, however, is the tactile and utterly transparent nature of its handling. BMW's "sheer driving pleasure" mantra is not a company aspiration, it's a cold, hard fact.

The 7 Series physically feels lighter - nimbler - than its true weight would suggest when the going gets quicker. It seems almost to anticipate your intentions and place itself optimally on the road. There's no denying it's a heavy car, but BMW's suspension tuning and 6.0 litres of V12 grunt make it incredibly quick point to point. Quick, stable and likely to outpace any luxury sedan you care to name.

This fleetness of foot is surely a product of BMW's Dynamic Drive suspension system, which increases front and rear anti-roll bar resistance to reduce body roll and improve responsiveness in corners. BMW claims the system maintains a high level of agility with little or no tradeoff in ride suppleness or compliance.

As its $332,400 launch price would indicate, the BMW 760Li is not for everyone. It's a car that says as much about the success of its owner as it does about their multi-million dollar bank balance. For that not insignificant outlay there's little a person could want in a car that the 760Li doesn't already have. It's specification list reads more like a lounge room than a mode of transport.

There's a DVD player with 6-stack changer in the boot and separate screens for front and rear passengers. Add to this a state-of-the-art, 13-speaker, Logic 7 HiFi system and you've got a surround sound entertainment centre that'll outdo most home setups.

BMW's all-in-one iDrive system now has a second knob in the rear so back seat passengers can access the system and adjust everything from climate control to satellite navigation and the in-car telephone. BMW assures us that the backseat knob cannot adjust anything that affects the actual car itself - like traction control and dynamic stability control - these must be done from the front knob.

Front seats are electrically adjustable for tilt, height, backrest rake, lumbar support, upper backrest angle and headrest height. The front seats have active headrests that move forward when the car is rear-ended to reduce the chances of whiplash. The rear seats, in typical business class style, can be electrically reclined for a more relaxed seating position.

Further examples of BMW's affluent attention to detail include dynamic headlamp beam control, leather throughout, walnut wood trim, soft closing doors, side window privacy blinds, ventilated seats front and rear, and a second telephone in the rear seats. Not to mention the voice recognition system...

Active safety is high on the BMW commandments, the 760Li listing ABS, ASC+T, DSC, blah blah blah and more... Think cutting edge of technology designed to iron out your human driving flaws with judicious brake and throttle adjustments to keep the mobile bank balance on the blacktop as much as possible.

When crashing becomes inevitable, the 760Li's passive safety reinforcements come to the fore. Airbags abound. Count 'em and you'll need both hands: two in front, two on the front-side, two in the rear-side and head bags for both rows.

Seat belt pretensioners and belt latch tensioners will take up the slack in a crash. As another example of high-priced attention to detail, the 760Li's battery will automatically disconnect itself in an airbag deploying crash to reduce the risk of fire.

Seriously, it doesn't matter what we say about this vehicle. You're not interested, not rich enough, or not concerned about its nuts and bolts.

If you can afford it then there's a passive assumption that the flagship of a prestigious German car company that's been around since Moses took a dip in Big Red will have every conceivable luxury and technological talking point - and a few inconceivable ones.

Put simply, the BMW 760Li successfully blends performance sedan credentials with luxury saloon opulence in a mix no other company can match.