Every BMW 7 Series seems to be shuttling diplomats from one important meeting to another. Buy a BMW 7 Series and instantly you feel like the U.N. Secretary-General.
Sure it's great to ride in a BMW 7 Series, but what's kept them such desirable cars is how wonderfully they drive. From the very moment the first 7 Series replaced the previous range of large BMWs (the 3.0Si the best known among them) for the 1978 model year, it was apparent this was a big flagship sedan built for drivers.
That first "E23" 733i was larger than its smaller Bimmer brothers, but constructed very much like them, with a MacPherson strut front suspension and an independent rear suspension. And the BMW 7 Series was styled much like other BMWs, too, with clean lines and a bump along the center of the hood directly above the traditional twin-kidney openings in the grille.
The first-generation BMW 7 Series were powered by BMW's inline six-cylinder engines. In America, that was restricted to first a 3.3-liter six and later a 3.5-liter version. which changed the sedan's name to 735i. In some European markets, the first BMW 7 Series was also available as the 745i, with a turbocharger heaving into the big six.
In early 1987 the E32 second-generation BMW 7 Series arrived as a 1988 model in either 735i six-cylinder form or a new 750i powered by a 5.0-liter V12. In 1993 the six gave way to a new 4.0-liter V8 as the 7 Series base engine in the renamed 740i. And "L" at the end of any 7 Series name indicated a longer wheelbase. Compared to the E23, the E32 appeared lighter and more athletic and, for some, it remains the archetypical BMW 7 Series.
Another new 7 Series arrived for 1995 in the form of the utterly gorgeous E38 that was again offered in V8 740i and V12 750i form. The most controversial 7 Series, the Chris Bangle-designed, high-deck E65, showed up in 2002 equipped with the iDrive system controller. Again available in V8 and V12 guises, it remained in production until the new F01/02 BMW 7 Series went on sale for 2009.
