If we’re speaking about manufacturing vehicles, the 16-cylinder membership is a small one. Cadillac bought the V-16 between 1930 and 1940, Cizeta started manufacturing of the V16T in 1993 and constructed round 13 items, and all of Bugatti’s Twenty first-century vehicles have used a W16. The model has a brand new V16 engine on the best way, too. BMW may have joined this checklist: it spent years growing V16s that it examined in two generations of the 7 Sequence.
We have identified in regards to the E32-based V16-powered Goldfish for many years, however BMW simply forged gentle on a more recent prototype associated to the E38-generation 7 Sequence bought from 1994 to 2001. The take a look at mule wasn’t made for the auto present circuit. It was largely saved hidden from view, and it made its public debut on the 2024 version of the annual Techno-Classica classic-car present in Essen, Germany, 34 years after it was constructed.
Probably the most fascinating a part of this long-wheelbase sedan is beneath the hood. It is powered by a 6,646-cubic-centimeter (6.6-liter) V16 tuned to develop 348 horsepower at 5,000 rpm. The engine is mounted longitudinally, it spins the rear wheels by way of a five-speed automated transmission, and it sends the 750iL to a high pace of 155 mph. These numbers may not sound spectacular in an period when Mercedes-AMG wrings 416 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbo-four and Volkswagen builds a 315-horsepower Golf able to reaching 155 mph, however remember the prototype was in-built 1990. Probably the most highly effective engine you would get in a 7 Sequence that 12 months was a 296-horsepower 5.0-liter V12.
And but, the second prototype was down on energy in comparison with the primary. It sounds just like the engine was revised: the Goldfish used a 6,651-cubic-centimeter (6.7-liter) V16 rated at 408 horsepower and its high pace checked in at 175 mph. As a trade-off, the second prototype was developed with this large drivetrain (the V16 was a few foot longer than the V12!) in thoughts from the get-go so it wore a extra congruous design. One main hurdle engineers confronted the primary time round is that the 2 radiators that cooled the V16 did not match within the engine bay. They have been moved to the trunk, and channeling cooling air required reducing a gap into every quarter panel and masking it with a fiberglass scoop.
That is to not say the 1990 prototype regarded like a regular-production 7 Sequence. It was constructed 4 years earlier than the E38 entered manufacturing, and it stood out from the usual mannequin in a number of key methods. Up entrance, it wore sealed-beam headlights with vivid bezels that gave it an old-school look. It used older-style exterior door handles, and its c-pillar was extra upright. It is unclear whether or not BMW designed the automobile this approach to set it other than the much less highly effective variants of the then-upcoming E38 or if the outside design merely wasn’t locked in on the time. Nevertheless, the model notes that the mission aimed to discover what a sedan positioned above the 7 may seem like and featured an aluminum physique.
We’ve not seen the prototype’s full inside but, however the one image launched by BMW reveals one of many must-have choices of the Nineteen Nineties: a automobile cellphone. It appears prefer it’s built-in into the rear armrest, which suggests the cabin was designed with a give attention to the rear-seat passengers. The oldsters sitting within the again additionally benefited from leather-based upholstery, power-adjustable seats bolsters, and their very own controls for the radio.
It goes with out saying that BMW canned the mission. It by no means launched a sedan positioned above the 7 Sequence, and it by no means launched a automobile powered by a V16 engine. That is unlikely to vary quickly: a brand new flagship — just like the 9 Sequence outlined by nebulous rumors years in the past — would plant its stake on territory occupied by Rolls-Royce, which BMW owns, and the current-generation 7 is not even out there with a V12.
In the meantime, in Stuttgart …
As a small comfort prize, BMW is not the one German model that ditched plans for a large engine within the early Nineteen Nineties. Arch rival Mercedes-Benz experimented with an 8.0-liter 18-cylinder engine it allegedly deliberate to place in a range-topping, ultra-luxurious evolution of the W140-generation S-Class and what would have been a brand new sports activities automobile positioned above the R129-generation SL. The engine was constructed and examined, and it appears like a captivating piece of engineering: it consisted of three straight-sixes organized in an uncommon W configuration.
Referred to as M216 internally, the W18 engine was canceled in favor of the 6.0-liter V12 (M120) that went into the 600 SEL, amongst different fashions.