2010 BMW 760i Packs Twin Turbo V12!

Way to buck the trend, BMW. Most every luxury manufacturer these days are downsizing their engine offerings and  making their cars more efficient - I mean, Bentley has a car that runs (to 204mph!) on E85 bioethanol!  Lexus has their hybrid flagship, the LS600hL - then there's the new Merc S400 hybrid, diesel Audi A8's, etc.  So it's refreshing to see BMW introduce a new top-of-the-line engine for their top-of-the-line car: especially since it's a twin turbo V12.

Slotting about BMW's weird twin-turbo V8 in the 7-series lineup, this 12-cylinder powerhouse is a very modern engine.  Construction is all aluminum, and the V12 has 6.0L of displacement at it's disposal.  Fuel delivery is of course via precise direct injection, and two turbochargers (mounted on the outside of the block, unlike the V8) send compressed air back in - to great effect.  BMW's new twin-turbo wündermotor produces an impressive 544bhp@5000rpm, and a torque peak of 553lb-ft (750nM) at a super-low 1,500 rpm.

All this copious power is sent to the rear wheels via a new 8-speed automatic transmission.  So equipped, the 760i will accelerate to 60 mph in only 4.6 seconds, on it's way to a limited top speed of 155mph.  Impressively, despite the gobs of extra horsepower, the new twin-turbo V12 acheives approximately 4.5% better fuel economy than the old, naturally aspirated one.  That's science for ya.

What's not known yet is whether or not this range-topper BMW will even make it to the States.  That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; we're one of the few countries still buying the big engines, regardless of the sorry shape our economy is in.  It remains to be seen, but I can't imagine BMW would spend the development money on an engine like this and not send it here.