2006 BMW 7 Series Preview

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Introduction

BMW 7 Series -- 2007 Preview: In the land of luxury, prestige is as important as bread and butter. And few badges inspire envy like a blue and white propeller stamped into the hood of a high-buck German sedan.

The 2006 model year marks the release of two updated models for BMW. The best selling Bimmer, the 3 Series, will now be offered to consumers with more powerful engines and updated styling – which, thankfully, lacks the much-maligned shapes of recent BMW products. That takes care of the bread and butter.

Addressing prestige is the job of the 2006 BMW 7 Series, the brand’s flagship that is now characterized by smoother and more attractive body lines, a simplified iDrive system (can you hear the wealthy masses rejoicing?), and a more powerful standard V8 engine.

Whereas ads for the 2006 3 Series can be seen on nearly every channel and billboard, BMW has spent relatively little time touting the new 7 Series. One may interpret this as BMW's way of saying "Fine. You were right. The last 7 Series could have been better." A whispered admission of poor styling decisions, if you will. With the 2006 7 Series it appears that BMW is offering an olive branch of sorts – the convoluted design stays, but in a concession to consumers and complainers it now more closely resembles the more traditional, conservative 7 Series of the past.

What's Under the Hood

New for 2006 is a more powerful base V8, which along with it brings a couple of new model names. Gone are the 745 models, replaced by the 750i and 750Li, both equipped with a 4.8-liter, dual overhead cam eight-cylinder engine, with 360 being the magic number for horsepower and torque. Peak horsepower is reached at 6,300 rpm, and maximum torque shows its stuff at 3,400 rpm.

Carried over from 2005 is the V12 fitted into the 760i and 760Li models. Horsepower is rated 438 at 6,000 rpm, and torque comes in at 444 lb.-ft. at 3,950 rpm.

Connected to both engines is a six-speed adaptive automatic transmission with a manual-interactive feature.

Since engine modifications are limited to the 2006 BMW 750i and 750Li, they are the only versions that will likely see any performance changes. Initial figures released by BMW suggest that the extra 35 horsepower provided by the new 4.8-liter V8 cuts a tenth of a second from 0-60 mph acceleration times, allowing the 750 to hit that magic number in 5.8 seconds – impressive for a full-size luxury flagship.

BMW officials claim that a few suspension adjustments will aid in the 7 Series’ handling at high speeds. Front and rear suspension bushings have been revised, as have spring rates and shock absorbers. In addition to the standard suspension setup, there are optional suspension settings that include BMW’s Active Roll Stabilization system and a new sport suspension.

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