Given that the new 730d diesel variant will instantly become the best-selling 7-series in the United Kingdom, accounting for around 40% or 1,100 of the 2,750 range-toppers expected to be sold this year, you’d think BMW GB might have got around to it a bit earlier, writes just-auto.com deputy editor Graeme Roberts.
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Like with the previous model.
That came out in petrol form in 1994 and, in 1996, a 725tds diesel version with 143bhp and a maximum speed of 128 mph went on sale in continental Europe. No other engine in the 725tds market drew so much power from just two and a half litres and, in 1998, BMW went one better with the 730d with 184bhp and 410Nm of torque thanks to common rail direct injection and four-valve cylinder technology.
So where were the British market cars? According to the company’s senior spokesman, Chris Willows, there just wasn’t enough demand at the luxury end of the market, at least in the old diesel model’s early years, though he does concede there was by the end of its run early last year.
“However, the investment was high and we decided to wait,” Willows said. “We have to put a case for right-hand drive engineering and commit to a certain volume before we can get a particular model so there’s an element of risk.”
Willows admits that fellow German rival Mercedes-Benz’s success with the oil-burning S-class, launched in the UK about a year ago, was the clincher – it now accounts for 60-65% of S-class sales and proved beyond doubt there was a small but useful market for luxury oil burners, fuelled by a company car tax based on a model’s CO2 output where diesels have an advantage.
In the UK 16% of all BMWs sold in 2001 were powered by diesel, and, with that figure climbing to 25% in 2002, the introduction of the diesel 7 series in 2003 is a logical step.
Especially now its engine, revised for 2003 with a slight 90cc cubic capacity increase to 2993cc and various weight-reducing and performance-enhancing measures, puts out 160kW or 214bhp at 4,000rpm and a whopping 500Nm or 369 lb-ft of torque at 2,000-2,750 rpm.
It also helps that the car is a cracker. As with the Europe-only previous model, the 2003 version’s newly-revised engine is the most powerful in its class, with 0-62mph (100km/h) acceleration in just 8.0 seconds yet an EC cycle combined fuel consumption figure of 33.2 mpg and a tank capacity of 17.6 gallons.
Within minutes of arrival at an evaluation drive event in Spain, a colleague was pounding it along a motorway at over 100mph, and we were still able to converse in normal tones, so silent is the cabin. And, especially with an optional sports suspension and stability package, the cornering ability is superb.
There is not a hint of diesel combustion ‘crackle’ in the cabin and, though we did not get the chance to start one from cold, we doubt the neighbours will get much idea that one’s new Seven is a diesel.
On-the-road retail prices for this new 7-series entry level model in Britain are £44,555.00 ($US71,520) for the 730d, £46,555.00 for the 730d SE and £48,755.00 for the 730d Sport. The SE models add 18″ multi-spoke alloy wheels, GPS navigation and telephone and an upgraded stereo system to the standard specification while the Sport models get 19″ V-spoke alloy wheels, sports suspension, sports seats and steering wheel on top of the SE package.
Ride quality was fine on smooth Spanish roads but we’d want to try a Sport – with its liquorice-strap profile tyres on UK roads before committing.
BMW GB has also added two more petrol engines to the range. Featuring the only engine to be included across the company’s entire range of BMW models, the 730i and long-wheel base 730Li offer a new straight-six three-litre alternative to the established V8s, priced from £46,850.
On the other hand, there are the new V12 760i / 760Li top-liners.
Distinguished by such features as an illuminated V12 logo on the door sills, this pair, starting at £76,350, have the third generation V12 engine which is new in almost every respect and comes with four valve technology, Valvetronic valve control and, for the first time ever in a 12 cylinder engine, direct fuel injection.
This new 5972cc engine produces 445 bhp at 6000 rpm and a massive 600 Nm (442 lbs ft) of torque at 3950 rpm, 83% of which (500 Nm/368 lbs ft) is available from 1500 rpm right up to the 6000 rpm rev limit.
Valvetronic valve control and direct fuel injection allow the new models to achieve a modest 21.1 mpg on the EC combined cycle.
