BMW hasn't had much use for V12 engines over the past few years. With modern turbocharging and even electrification, it's been easy to make the same, if not superior, power figures from a much smaller displacement turbocharged V8. Still, there's something about a V12 that's just so endearing, which is why it's stuck around for these years. However, even its silky-smooth charm won't be able to keep it around forever, which is why the BMW V12 is likely dead after this generation.
During a recent interview with Autoblog (which we spoke about yesterday), BMW M CEO Markus Flasch was asked if the BMW V12 had any life in it.
"Beyond what we have, I don't believe we will see a new twelve-cylinder model in the foreseeable future." said Flasch.
That might be sad news to a lot of BMW enthusiasts. After all, BMW does have some incredible V12s in its history, including the simply awesome BMW 850 CSi, which had a V12 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. However, any realistic car enthusiast understands that any engine bigger than eight-cylinders is doomed. Emissions restrictions and the need to save the planet are going to take big, gas-sucking engines away.
Another reason for the lack of BMW V12 is Rolls Royce. After this generation of Rolls Royce Ghost, the famed British luxury brand will no longer be using BMW engines. Rolls created its own twin-turbocharged V12 for the new Phantom and Cullinan and no longer uses a BMW V12. So once Rolls no longer needs the big engine, there's really no need for BMW to develop one. The only car in BMW's lineup that uses a V12 is the M760i and that sells in far too few of numbers to warrant continue twelve-cylinder development.
We'll all miss the BMW V12, as the brand has long had a history of making creamy-smooth twelve-pot engines. However, its demise will only be a sign of changing times and change is exciting. The addition of electrification, either to enhance internal combustion or to act on its own, has made the V12 obsolete. The main benefit of the V12 was its smooth, effortless power delivery. Nothing is smoother or more effortless than electric power. So as the BMW V12 dies off, we'll be gaining electrified Bimmers with smoother, more instantaneous torque. So as a legend dies, a new era is ushered in and it should be a better one.
BMW X7 M60i Digital Instrument Panel Leaked, Hints at V12 Monster
Ever wanted a discount Rolls-Royce Cullinan with three rows of seats? BMW thinks you do, which is why it seems the company is developing the X7 M60i monster SUV.
This is pretty exciting news if you're a fan of super-large, uber-expensive German luxury SUVs with powerful engines aka if you live in America or the Middle East. "60" is a pretty big number for an M-performance model, as the range starts with the 306 horsepower M135i. And believe it or now, the displacement difference between these is three-fold.
A forum post on Bimmerpost reveals all. Here we see the digital dashboard of a potential X7 M60i. It's amazing to see something like this being leaked, as nobody has spyshots of an M Performance version based on this SUV. Yet it makes perfect sense, considering we're BMW needs to exploit all the internal combustion engines it has before EV fully take over.
So what's the source of this photo, a disgruntled BMW test driver tired of long hours and time away from his wife? No, the forum member Jokinawa says he found this while searching through the coding options of the production X7, the one you can buy.
Basically, it only proves that BMW made a logo for the X7 M60i and left it in the system. It's not an uncommon thing to do, as mid-life facelifts are sometimes discovered like that. On top of the photo, we'd like to add the fact that the trademark for this model pre-dates the launch of the X7. We always believed it was coming, but it never did.
The engine for this all-mighty model would probably have to be the 6.6-liter bi-turbo from the M760Li sedan, which for the 2019 model year was downgraded to 685 HP and 850 Nm of torque. It's going to be a real beast of burden, weighing about 2.5 tons and drinking fuel at a rate of at least 20 l/km around town.
