BMW 7 Series (E32) - Powertrain

Powertrain

The E32 7-series cars were offered with 5 gasoline engines.

At the car's introduction, the 730 and 735 used the straight-6 M30 engine, while the 750 featured the all-new M70 V12 engine which produced 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS).

In 1992, a new 32-valve V8 engine was introduced, the M60. The 730i got this engine in a 3-liter version, while the new 740i got the 4-liter version. Both versions were coupled to a new, 5-speed automatic transmission made by ZF.

In some countries (notably in the USA and UK), there were problems with the M60 engine because of excessive sulfur amount in gasoline, causing corrosion problems in its Nikasil cylinder block. The cylinder lining would quickly wear, causing the engine to lose compression, which caused rough idling and eventually the engine would fail to start. Engines were replaced under warranty; the problem was corrected by using a different material, Alusil. In the USA and UK sulfur rich fuel is being phased out. Nikasil engines are unlikely to be a problem today, as cars with affected engines are off the road or have received replacement engines.

Externally, the BMW 'kidney' grille indicated which engine was present under the hood: all 6-cylinder models had a narrow grille, and all 8- and 12-cylinder models had the wider version. This feature was not seen on later models (the E38 used a wide grille for all models). The narrow grille was available as an option on the 8- and 12-cylinder E32 models.

The 740i speed was electronically limited at 240 km/h (149 mph) to distinguish it from the flagship vehicle 750i. The 740i E38 which used the same engine as 740i E32 had speed limited to 250 km/h (155 mph).