History of the BMW 7 Series Sedan |
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| Topics: BMW 7 Series
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John Stone
February 1, 2014
The BMW 7 Series sedan is the top of the line, flagship sedan offered by BMW, a luxury automaker based in Germany. The 7 series model was introduced by BMW in 1977, and has had five generations since its addition to the BMW family.
The first generation of the BMW 7 series was offered in 1977, and stayed until 1986. This generation would be known as the BMW E23. This generation featured a 6 cylinder engine, and a 3-speed automatic, or a 4 speed manual transmission. This is very unusual, as the current and more recent 7 series models, are only available in automatic transmissions. Of course, this time in history, most cars were manual transmissions.
The second generation, E32 7 series, was offered by BMW from 1986-1994. This generation featured a newer look, with a nice redesign on the exterior, and interior. This generation of 7 series offered a 8 cylinder engine, and offered a "L" package, which meant extended legroom for the back seat passengers, helping make it extremely luxurious and roomy on the inside. The transmission on this generation was offered as a 4 speed automatic, 5 speed manual, or a 5 speed automatic transmission, depending on which version of the 7 series was purchased.
The next generation of the BMW 7 series is one of my favorite designs, and was known as the E38. The E38 spanned from 1994-2001. This generation featured a 5 speed automatic transmission, 8 or 12 cylinder engines, a great exterior and interior redesign, and many great luxurious, safety, and technology features added. This generation, 750iL (extended) was BMW's absolute flagship sedan, and was driven by James Bond in the 1997 film, "Tomorrow Never Dies".
The next generation 7 series sedan from BMW, was known as the BMW E65 and E66. This is also one of my favorite BMW designs, as the 7 series was once again redesigned, on both the interior and exterior. This generation of the BMW 7 series spanned from 2002-2008. Having sat and rode in a 2007 745Li extended, this car is absolutely beautiful. The car has so many technology, safety, and security features, that make this vehicle unbelievably luxurious, and a thrill to drive and ride in. this features a V8 or V12 engine, and a 5 or 6 speed automatic transmissions, depending on the model of BMW 7 series. The exterior of the vehicle was redesigned considerably, and made rounder edges, taillights, brake lights, and more.
The current generation of the BMW 7 series is known as the F01/F02, and has been in production since 2009. The car was also redesigned slightly, and is incredibly beautiful and luxurious. If you're interested in learning more about the BMW 7 series, simply head to BMW's website.