BMW Celebrates a Quarter Century of 12-Cylinder Executive Sedans

BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
8471 photos
43 videos
has never been shy about building big, powerful engines. The company was founded to build aircraft engines, and the first engine that it built itself was a 19.1-liter inline-six engine for World War One-era planes. Among its top engines in recent years have been its big displacement V12 engines generally used in the 7 SeriesMercedes-Benz 190Germany, 1954 > 19652 series
8 versions
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. 

In 1986, BMW introduced the E32-chassis, second generation 7 SeriesBMW 7 Series Gen.2Germany, 1986 > 199417 versions
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whose top model was the 750i with a brand new 5.0-liter V12 for 1987. The engine was based on the M20B25 inline-six engine from that periods 3 SeriesBMW 3 Series Gen.2Germany, 1982 > 199256 versions
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and 5 SeriesBMW 5 Series Gen.3Germany, 1988 > 199644 versions
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. The V12 in 750i shared the bore and stroke as the M20 and used separate ECUs for each engine bank. Still, it produced 300hp and 330lb-ft of torque, which was impressive for the time. 

The M70 morphed into the S70 in the early 90s and was placed in the famous McLaren F1McLaren F1United Kingdom, 1992 > 19986 versions
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and even the V12 LMRBMW V12 LMRGermany, 1999 > present3 photos
racecar. To make the extra power, the engine was bored out to 6.0-liters, and BMW added dual-variable valve timing that brought power to 618hp.

The third generation, E38-chassis 7 SeriesBMW 7 Series Gen.3Germany, 1994 > 200114 versions
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was introduced in 1995 and received an updated V12 with 5.4-liters of displacement with 320hp and 360lb-ft of torque. Unlike the original M70 V12, the new M73 was not used in as many models. It only made it into the 7 Series and 8 SeriesBMW 8 SeriesGermany, 1989 > 19999 versions
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The fourth generation, E65-chassis 7 SeriesBMW 7 Series Gen.4Germany, 2001 > 200823 versions
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came in 2001 and had a new 6.0-liter V12 with 439hp and 440lb-ft of torque. The new N73 V12 brought direct injection and Valvetronic to BMW's V12s. It was only used in the E65-chassis 7 Series and Rolls-Royce PhantomRolls-Royce PhantomUnited Kingdom, 2003 > 20114 versions
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. 

The newest F01 7 SeriesBMW 7 Series Gen.5Germany, 2009 > present50 versions
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came in 2008, and it received a new N74 V12. Displacement remained 6.0-liters, but BMW added two turbochargers for extra power. Power jumped to 540hp and 550lb-ft of torque. While this engine has only been used in the 7 Series, a version with more boost that makes 562hp is used in the Rolls-Royce GhostRolls-Royce GhostUnited Kingdom, 2010 > present4 photos
.

The major question for BMW's V12s is if they will survive. The company has been on a program of making engines smaller over the last five years. The 3 Series now comes with a turbocharged four-cylinder instead of an inline-six, and the 1 SeriesBMW 1 Series Gen.2 [F20] Germany, 2011 > present130 versions
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will be getting a turbocharged three-cylinder soon. With BMW experimenting more with hybrids, will it keep building a V12 when it could build a hybrid V8 with the same power and better economy?