BMW Built An E38 M7 After All: A 1997 740i With The E39 M5’s V8 And A Six-Speed Manual
7 Series
BMW Classic’s E38 7 Series prototype gets 394 hp (400 PS) from the 4.9-liter S62, tops out at 250 km/h, and weighs 1,875 kg.
Article Summary
- The S62 makes 394 hp (400 PS) at 6,600 rpm, the same output as in the E39 M5.
- Outside, only BBS wheels and M-style quad exhaust tips give it away; inside, it has black and beige leather and a rear-seat telephone.
- BMW has never sold a full M version of the 7 Series, and today the top model is the electric i7 M70 xDrive, an M Performance car.
BMW Classic has shown an E38 7 Series built the way enthusiasts always wanted one: a BMW M7 prototype with the E39 M5’s S62 V8 and a six-speed manual. The car started life as a 1997 740i, and according to the short video BMW Classic posted, its internal designation was simply “BMW M7.” That name carries some weight, because BMW never sold an M version of the 7 Series, in the E38 generation or any since.
What BMW Put Under The 740i’s Long Hood
The engine is the S62, the 4.9-liter (4,941 cc) naturally aspirated V8 that powered the E39 M5. In this car it makes 394 hp (400 PS) at 6,600 rpm, the same figure BMW quoted for the M5. The video lingers on the engine bay long enough to show the familiar ribbed cover with the BMW M Power lettering and the tricolor M logo, so there’s no mistaking where the hardware came from. The power goes through a six-speed manual, and the shifter sits in the 740i’s wood-trimmed center console as if it always belonged there. The video lists a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and a weight of 1,875 kg (4,134 pounds). The top speed matches the E39 M5, which was also limited to 250 km/h, even though the 7 Series body is longer.
The Design Details of The BMW M7 Prototype
The appeal here is how little the car gives away. From the outside, it’s a dark, standard-looking E38 wearing “BMW 7er” plates, and only two details hint at what’s underneath. The first is a set of dark cross-spoke BBS wheels. The second is at the back, where four exhaust tips exit in pairs on either side, the quad-pipe layout BMW used on its M cars of the era, including the E39 M5.
The cabin is dual-tone, with black leather on the dashboard, door tops, and seat bolsters, and beige leather on the seat centers and door inserts. A three-spoke M steering wheel sits in front of the driver, and the six-speed shifter rises out of a wood-trimmed console. In the back, the center console still carries a telephone handset on a coiled cord, a very late-1990s executive touch. It’s a chauffeur car with an M5 drivetrain, and from the curb you’d never know.
Why Did BMW Never Build A Production M7?
The video doesn’t say why the car stayed a prototype. Our read is that it made little business sense: a production M7 would have challenged the V12 750i as the flagship, and the E39 M5 already offered the same engine and gearbox in a smaller, cheaper car. Most E38 buyers in the late 1990s also wanted a chauffeur more than a clutch pedal. Private owners have since done the same swap themselves, and those cars still turn up for sale with “M7” in the listing. What the BMW Classic car adds is proof that someone inside the company tried it first, with a proper internal name attached.
The Closest Thing To An M7 Today
Nearly three decades later, the top of the 7 Series lineup is the i7 M70 xDrive, an electric M Performance model with 650 hp and no gear lever at all. It has 256 hp more than this prototype, but it’s a very different idea of a fast 7 Series from the one enthusiasts had in mind when the E38 was new.
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