Mark your calendars: BMW’s V12 engine will meet its end in June.
It’s been 35 years since the German automaker introduced their first road-going V12, all the way back in 1987. Now, as BMW and the industry pivots toward electrified vehicles, we’re facing the end of an era that spawned huge (and hugely impressive) units, most of which landed in the flagship 7 Series sedan, as is the current case. Of course, once of its most iconic variants is almost certainly the S70/2 V12 — an iteration on the original 750i’s engine that made its way into the legendary McLaren F1.
These days, we’re specifically talking about the 6.6-liter, twin-turbocharged unit that is the heart of the M760i xDrive. This Final V12 special edition will be limited to just 12 units for the U.S., with production ending in June 2022. Today’s V12 unit manages 601 horsepower, as well as a blistering 3.6 second 0-60 time (this is still a gigantic limousine, remember). That engine cranks out 627 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission.
The BMW M760i xDrive Final V12 edition comes fully loaded, as it should for its $200,995 price tag. Special 20-inch double-spoke alloy wheels com as part of the package, painted in either Window Grey or Jet Black, then “burnished to reveal a dark silver surface highlight,” BMW says. M Sport brakes are also included, naturally, while the other unique tweaks mainly come down to special V12 badging and the full range of BMW’s Individual paint colors — over 80 in total.
You can’t just go out and buy one
This special edition 7 Series has a few more touches to make it stand out as one of the last V12 models. You’ll get a console-mounted plaque marking the car out as “1 of 12”, in addition to having every other option you can possibly fit to a 7 Series.
Want one? Well, it’s not as simple as just placing an order with your BMW dealer. Instead, BMW will approach “long-standing” V12 7 Series owners. If you’ve actually managed to afford and run one of those cars over the past few decades, then there’s a chance you’ll be able to pick one of these up. Perhaps one or two examples will break out onto the market after these last M760i models are delivered — for thousands and thousands over MSRP, of course.
If you miss out and still want fast, expensive and opulent, though, you could pick up something like an Alpina B8 instead:
