BMW 760Li V12 2009 Review - International

BMW 760Li V12

What we liked
>> Astonishingly strong engine
>> Smoothness in everything it does
>> Brilliant seats

Not so much
>> Disturbingly thirsty
>> Weight is always obvious in handling
>> Faintly ludicrous a/c compressor in the boot

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

There used to be a tradition in the luxury limousine world that you'd get the interior team to stretch the cabin and then stuff it full of everything they could find in their wildest dreams. And because that made everything heavier, then you'd get the engine people to make the thing haul -- even with all the added weight.

The most famous example of this inside-out development mantra was probably the Mercedes-Benz Grosser limo of the 1970s. The 600 became the low-altitude transportation of choice for everyone from the super rich to heads of state around the world.

Benz still makes very fast luxury limos but it isn't alone, because BMW's all-new 7-Series has just been stretched, padded and jammed full of hand-built, twin-turbo V12 engine. And the result is a stupendously fast, comfortable, versatile and secure machine that very, very few people will ever ride in, let alone own.

But if you think this is just about living a day like a millionaire, think again, because the 760Li is the first BMW to usher in the Munich brand's next big engineering steps forward towards what it calls Efficient Dynamics.

The engine is the first production TwinPower engine -- BMW's name to cover the combination of twin-scroll turbocharging, direct fuel-injection and double VANOS variable valve timing and lift. While that sounds a bit techno-babble, it means significant savings in fuel consumption and it will trickle down through the rest of the BMW range in the coming years.

It also gets the company's all-new eight-speed automatic gearbox, which it claims reduces consumption by six per cent over the old six-speeder and which will find its way into the 7, 6 and 5 Series, plus the X5/X6 soon.

While that would probably be reason enough to give the enormous-looking four-door another look, it's also stupendously fast, proving that the new engine is more than a piece of marketing phaff.

Detuned to just 400kW(!), the petrol-powered 6.0-litre V12 also thumps out an astonishing 750Nm of torque from just 1500rpm and keeps belting it out all the way through to 5000rpm. If that gives the impression of an engine that just flings you into the back of the seat and keeps you there, then that's partly true, but sells it short in subtlety and cleverness.

There are two turbos hanging off the V12, each one feeding squashed air to six cylinders. They help to surge the 2.17-tonne limousine to 100k/h in just 4.6 seconds.

But it's not so much how much power or torque the V12 produces. It's more about how it goes about its work. Even when you launch it off the line, it doesn't instantly slam you into the seat. Instead, it feels like it progressively (but urgently) increases the pressure until you are suddenly aware that you are accelerating very, very quickly.

There's an impressively masculine noise on full throttle, but very little noise when you're cruising and, even when you hurl the big monster up the autobahn at 250km/h, the engine never gives a hint of a tremor or unwanted vibration.

And neither does the new gearbox. It does a masterful job of conducting the V12's orchestra, slipping almost unnoticed up through the gears, but capable of swapping directly from eighth gear to second gear when it figures out you want to corner with some enthusiasm.You can tell it that enthusiasm is what you want via a console-mounted button, but for the most part, it'll work it out anyway, so it's best to just hang on and let it do the job for you.

Of course, the 760Li is an extravagant use of resources, but BMW claims its fuel consumption is down five per cent (to 13L/100km) on its V12 predecessor, even though its power is up 22 per cent and it has 25 per cent more torque. That all sounds hunky dory, but we'd chewed through half of the 82-litre tank on a 200km test, and very little of that was on full-throttle running, so cross-country range doesn't seem special.

Like the rest of the 7 Series range, the handling is extremely competent and user-friendly. The Comfort mode (selected via a three-range button that also offers Auto and Sport) drips with under-damped plushness that anybody used to BMW's normal handling prowess might find a little nauseating. Its Auto mode is better for almost all situations, then the Sport mode pushes more weight into the steering, tightens up the throttle response and makes the gearbox more aggressive. It's faster, for sure, and not over-damped, but the standard mode is the pick of them.

Push hard, though, and you won't find too many arguments from the back seat, because it's almost impossible to break through the comfort barrier put up by the pews. Besides the enormous legroom, the leather is a higher quality than the normal seven, it gets the full entertainment array and everything in it can be run from a duplicate i-Drive system mounted in the centre armrest in the rear.

The suspension keeps it level back there at all times, though it can be a bit wobbly in Comfort mode. Other than that, you can get a massage in either seat, you can have heat soaked through the cabin or cooling air blown through the seats... You can work; you can watch movies; or you can just chill out.

As one of the few BMWs that are easily as appealing in the back as it is behind the wheel, the 760Li has a unique place in the line-up.

And, besides confirming that the once-endangered V12 engine has a long-term future, it also proves that the TwinPower setup works smoothly and with astonishing strength.

Now we can just hope the more mainstream TwinPowers have better fuel economy numbers than this one.

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