While it would appear that Mercedes-Benz is planning to stop shoving a V12 engine into its S-Class, the folks over at BMW won’t be going down the same path. The V12-powered 7 Series will remain in place, although it’ll only be for a few years – four to be exact.
In a report by Top Gear, the head of powertrain for the latest 7 Series, Michael Bayer, said, “we will keep [the V12] for the rest of this generation at least, until 2023.”
The 7 Series range was recently given a facelift, and the only variant with a V12 petrol engine comes in the form of the M760Li xDrive. Featuring a 6.6 litre twin-turbo V12 (N74B66) with 585 PS and 850 Nm, the big (and heavy) limo takes just 3.8 seconds to complete a zero to 100 km/h sprint despite a dip in power from before (610 PS and 800 Nm).
A “smaller” option is found in the 750i/750Li, which gets a revised version of the 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 (N63B44) with 530 PS and 750 Nm. Anything lesser is either a plug-in hybrid (745e/745Le), or has an oil burner at the front.
According to BMW, big engines remain a popular choice with customers outside of Europe like in the United States, the Middle East and China. Put simply, those looking to buy a 7 Series are willing to pay top dollar for the largest engine in BMW’s arsenal.
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V12 engines are a waste. Because they are heavy. If you notice Merc AMG V8 engines, the 0 to 60 is the same as the
V12 engines despite the V12 having more power.
This is because the engine is much much heavier. V12 is actually dead
You sir, are not a man of culture.
Nothing beats the smooth drive of a V12. Which is why Rolls-Royce still uses such engines. This is not the fire breathing racerboy V12, this is the refined gentlemen V12 we are talking about here.
V12 engine sound never same with V8 even more power & output.