Rowan Atkinson knew about it, and was the reason why it was used...because he's so into cars he knew that the "Rolls" had been experimentally designed for a V16 and he specifically asked for it.
Awesome video. I’ve had two E32s. A 88 735I that I did a suspension upgrade to all B7 Alpina parts and a 89 750 IL. The in-line six after replacing the factory exhaust was faster than the V12 car in the quarter-mile and would get to 155mph three seconds quicker. You need to do a video on the hydrogen powered V12 experimental car that they worked on. Go into the fact that the oil companies shut down that idea by refusing to distribute hydrogen at gas stations.
It's a stupid idea to put a v16 train engine into a small car back then but it was an engineer dream to show its possible, something like that is definitely not worth it in today's world and car market it would be a waste of money , time , effort and energy
Once you get up to eight cylinders and four liters turbocharging, rather than adding more cylinders, start making a lot of sense. It is no coincidence that both BMW and Mercedes have this type of configuration in the their lineup while V12's are exceedingly rare. Nice video of this historic mad project.
A: 6 speed!!!!!!!! Do want!!! B: fucking great video. Especially for a tiny channel. You’re shockingly close to pro level content, all things considered. Keep it up
I have heard of this , I use to think it was an original so it was clearly a replica but a very good one. I remember seeing it in west London when I was a kid in the late 90s/early 2000s.
You're wrong!! I've owned five e32s, so i have a big interest in these cars. Just by taking a look at the "kidneys" tells you that the car is not a 750... The 767 goldfish was born as a 735
Btw, the test date is even more special: christmas eve is way more important in germany (thats where usually the presents are given) and usually you get half the day off as a paid holiday.
If the factory calls the car a 750il why do some people call them e38s? It's confusing to the average person who might otherwise be interested in the cars. I had a 1987 535is, have no idea what the other name for it was, have no interest in knowing.
@@3ducs It's just a code name, could be used to identify the generations as there are multiple generations that came with a 750il badge. The code name for your 535is is E28, very cool car.
@@alidude_ Thank-you! It was a cool car, but it did bring out the bad boy in me. I went from that to a 1987 Audi 5000CS Quattro, also a cool car in a different way. Just bought a 2006 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, hope to get it early next week, it joins a 2016 Mazda MX-5 and a 2016 Jaguar F-Type 3.0 S manual transmission coupe, I think I have my bases covered with those.
BMW also tried that sngine out in the,RR Phantom in 2015 and it oroduced phenomenal bhp/torque figures then put them in 2 test cars ,but,at the last moment backed down from putting the whole concept into production. It was said that BMW did secret market research and found that the car had incredible appeal for the very rich -especially the Arabs -AND YET BACKED DOWN FROM PUTTING IT INTO PRODUCTION EVEN THOUGH THEY WOULD HAVE HAD AN ORDER BOOK FULL FOR 10 PLUS YEARS -DEFINITELY A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO STAMP THEIR MARK FOREVER ON RR !!.
Plus the packaging in the prototype clearly isn’t viable for a production car so they would have had to modify the front to swallow the engine and keep the radiators there. I expect that tooling to do that would have been more costly than the engine itself. It was cool though.
I know that m70 v12 was not a powerhouse to start with but 408 hp from a 6.7 v16 is absolutely pitiful. The cizeta v16t was new at that time and that had a 6.0 v16 that made over 500 hp
The bigger engines really showed the law of diminishing returns back in the day. I had a 6pot M50 that was 75bhp/litre while the V8s were down to 60-odd and the V12/V16 in the high 50s. I've always presumed it was attempt to keep the fuel economy in some semblance of sensible!
I see what you mean. Another reason has to do with the fact that each cylinder “does less work,” and therefore is smoother which is why v12s and v16s are usually featured in luxury cars
Better fuel consumption that Land Cruiser , that's great, Where did i go wrong then with my Hilux, WOuld love to drive this, love the eries7 but had to go to practicality,
What a fantastic engine! Can you just imagine the M version, oh baby! But what do we get but ugly grills and rather boring over technology loaded cars. My last BMW is a 2003 530i, love the car. Not overly complicated and fun to drive. Just like my 1969 2002, and my 1973 2002tii. Thanks for the video
Getting an e39 5 series is on my bucket list. Not a huge fan of modern bmws either but I'm trying my best. Glad they put a manual in the new z4 though. Thanks for the comment and for watching!!
I watched a German interview. If Mercedes-Benz had pulled the V16-card BMW was prepared and had the engine "ready" on paper in the drawer. Crazy 1980's - bigger, faster, higher, further. 😉
@@DrivenbyMatt Yes and no. There are always others above you to decide if a good project gets a green or a red light. It seems Wolfgang Reizle did a lot right as head of BMW in mid 1980's. 😉
It was the cooling system. If you can't put 4 bags of golf clubs in the back is it a bmw 7 Series? (People are dumb and I can see that being the kill factor)
Imagine 2-seater BMW e31 with this V16 in the back behind seats....that's what true first M8 might have been....it would probably outrun McLaren F1 if tuned into top performance which I presume about 1000hp....
So even with a near 7.0ltr V16 engine it still had a slower top speed than the Lotus Carlton (3.6ltr twin turbo 377bhp 410lbft the fastest 5 seater saloon for a decade or more!) and hit 60 mph over a second slower (Lotus Carlton 4.8 sec to 60 mph, 10.9 to 100mph top speed at least 176mph but possibly over 180mph!!!!)
They did build another v16 the was a possible rolls royce engine, and yes it was put in an operating car for the Johnny English movie
Rowan Atkinson knew about it, and was the reason why it was used...because he's so into cars he knew that the "Rolls" had been experimentally designed for a V16 and he specifically asked for it.
....it was that RR V16 sir Rowan Atkinson presented when guested one of TopGear episodes....
Glad you beat me to it, and yes I'm English.
Yes, I'm known as Jonny.
🙄
Didn’t he end up buying the car?
Fantastic video! Informative, succinct and great editing. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Great video Matt, I hope you find something similar, as you say to get that engine built and running in six months is incredible, I might subscribe
Thank you I appreciate this!
Awesome video. I’ve had two E32s. A 88 735I that I did a suspension upgrade to all B7 Alpina parts and a 89 750 IL. The in-line six after replacing the factory exhaust was faster than the V12 car in the quarter-mile and would get to 155mph three seconds quicker. You need to do a video on the hydrogen powered V12 experimental car that they worked on. Go into the fact that the oil companies shut down that idea by refusing to distribute hydrogen at gas stations.
That is a great idea. I appreciate it
Solid content, channel is gonna pop!
Also, I wish we could hear the engine!
I really appreciate that thank you!
It's a stupid idea to put a v16 train engine into a small car back then but it was an engineer dream to show its possible, something like that is definitely not worth it in today's world and car market it would be a waste of money , time , effort and energy
Once you get up to eight cylinders and four liters turbocharging, rather than adding more cylinders, start making a lot of sense. It is no coincidence that both BMW and Mercedes have this type of configuration in the their lineup while V12's are exceedingly rare. Nice video of this historic mad project.
I agree, and thank you I appreciate it.
Great video 👍
Appreciate it!!
A: 6 speed!!!!!!!! Do want!!!
B: fucking great video. Especially for a tiny channel. You’re shockingly close to pro level content, all things considered. Keep it up
Means a lot I appreciate it!!
I have heard of this , I use to think it was an original so it was clearly a replica but a very good one. I remember seeing it in west London when I was a kid in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Great video. One of my BMW favorites. It’s based on a lwb car, though. They took a 750iL Highline as the base car, not a swb 750i.
Thank you and thanks for the correction. I need to be more precise in my language, I’m new at this RUclips thing
You're wrong!! I've owned five e32s, so i have a big interest in these cars. Just by taking a look at the "kidneys" tells you that the car is not a 750... The 767 goldfish was born as a 735
Btw, the test date is even more special: christmas eve is way more important in germany (thats where usually the presents are given) and usually you get half the day off as a paid holiday.
Would have been cool if they made a factory 750i twin turbos for the extra grunt istead of adding cylinders
Fan of older BMWs, but never heard of this! Not sure I can cram it in my e46! Cheers!
An e46 with a V16 would be something I could get behind!
Haha, right?@@DrivenbyMatt
@@DrivenbyMatt I think MOST people would be behind a 400hp E46 before long....
I never knew this.. My dad owns the v12 e38 aka 750il, but i never knew they thought of making a V16
If the factory calls the car a 750il why do some people call them e38s? It's confusing to the average person who might otherwise be interested in the cars. I had a 1987 535is, have no idea what the other name for it was, have no interest in knowing.
@@3ducs It's just a code name, could be used to identify the generations as there are multiple generations that came with a 750il badge.
The code name for your 535is is E28, very cool car.
@@alidude_ Thank-you! It was a cool car, but it did bring out the bad boy in me. I went from that to a 1987 Audi 5000CS Quattro, also a cool car in a different way. Just bought a 2006 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, hope to get it early next week, it joins a 2016 Mazda MX-5 and a 2016 Jaguar F-Type 3.0 S manual transmission coupe, I think I have my bases covered with those.
Imagine if they made a M1 , with this engine centered in the car .
That thing would've been a beast
Then it would have been heavy. A turbo works better.
BMW also tried that sngine out in the,RR Phantom in 2015 and it oroduced phenomenal bhp/torque figures then put them in 2 test cars ,but,at the last moment backed down from putting the whole concept into production. It was said that BMW did secret market research and found that the car had incredible appeal for the very rich -especially the Arabs -AND YET BACKED DOWN FROM PUTTING IT INTO PRODUCTION EVEN THOUGH THEY WOULD HAVE HAD AN ORDER BOOK FULL FOR 10 PLUS YEARS -DEFINITELY A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO STAMP THEIR MARK FOREVER ON RR !!.
a v16 was supposed to be in the RR Spectre not a washing machine
They put the heat exchanger where it should be. Gets rid of the waste heat completely instead of just blowing it back over the engine.
Id give anything to drive something RWD, V16 powered and stickshift 😍
Nowadays a 4 cylinder turbo can produce more power 🙂
And break faster
IMO it was simply a business decision. The V16 prototype produced only marginal performance improvements over the V12 so they decided against it.
Plus the packaging in the prototype clearly isn’t viable for a production car so they would have had to modify the front to swallow the engine and keep the radiators there. I expect that tooling to do that would have been more costly than the engine itself. It was cool though.
I know that m70 v12 was not a powerhouse to start with but 408 hp from a 6.7 v16 is absolutely pitiful. The cizeta v16t was new at that time and that had a 6.0 v16 that made over 500 hp
Dad had a linc v16 in 1948? That had a swapped in flathead v8.
Pretty sure it wasn’t a v12 car.
Livingston manor, ny.
It was a V12. Lincoln never made a V16. And the Lincoln V12’s post war were leftover pre war engines…they ran out in ‘48, or 49 I believe…
This was a real earth 🌍 plane... Real gold 🪙.
Needs a VR 21cylinder with ITB's. 3150cc
Ah yes, the 80s
The golden era of everything, just like people like me :)
The bigger engines really showed the law of diminishing returns back in the day. I had a 6pot M50 that was 75bhp/litre while the V8s were down to 60-odd and the V12/V16 in the high 50s. I've always presumed it was attempt to keep the fuel economy in some semblance of sensible!
I see what you mean. Another reason has to do with the fact that each cylinder “does less work,” and therefore is smoother which is why v12s and v16s are usually featured in luxury cars
They could have done these power numbers with a 3.5L twin turbo V6.
Why not a 24 cylinder engine?
Brake Horse power? Or maybe Block Horse Power?
An extra 60kg = more nose heavy than Cyrano de Bergerac. The 735i with a straight 6 was already bad enough.
Better fuel consumption that Land Cruiser , that's great, Where did i go wrong then with my Hilux, WOuld love to drive this, love the eries7 but had to go to practicality,
I’m glad someone acknowledged the Land Cruiser reference
What a fantastic engine! Can you just imagine the M version, oh baby! But what do we get but ugly grills and rather boring over technology loaded cars. My last BMW is a 2003 530i, love the car. Not overly complicated and fun to drive. Just like my 1969 2002, and my 1973 2002tii. Thanks for the video
Getting an e39 5 series is on my bucket list. Not a huge fan of modern bmws either but I'm trying my best. Glad they put a manual in the new z4 though. Thanks for the comment and for watching!!
The CC is distracting, I stopped watching at 1:32 because of that.
Noted
408bhp from a 6.7L V16. It's amazing how engines have developed and you can now quite easily get that power from a turbo 4 cylinder
I watched a German interview. If Mercedes-Benz had pulled the V16-card BMW was prepared and had the engine "ready" on paper in the drawer.
Crazy 1980's - bigger, faster, higher, further. 😉
That’s awesome I didn’t know that. Would’ve been an exciting time to be an engineer at one of those manufacturers
@@DrivenbyMatt Yes and no. There are always others above you to decide if a good project gets a green or a red light.
It seems Wolfgang Reizle did a lot right as head of BMW in mid 1980's. 😉
Interesting video but the shouty block-caps captions are unwelcome
I will change those for next time
The past tense of the word 'cast' is 'cast', not 'casted'.
Thank you, I’ll make note of this
It was the cooling system.
If you can't put 4 bags of golf clubs in the back is it a bmw 7 Series?
(People are dumb and I can see that being the kill factor)
I want a straight 16 cylinder engine.😄
Imagine 2-seater BMW e31 with this V16 in the back behind seats....that's what true first M8 might have been....it would probably outrun McLaren F1 if tuned into top performance which I presume about 1000hp....
Just imagine twin turbocharged V16 with intercoolers & sync with superchargers in a RR CLASSIC SUV 😂
Those would have sold like hot cakes in the Middle East
V12 made from the 3.0 I6 would have probably been way better.
Ultimate drug lord car
"409! 409! Nothing can catch my 409"
Except a late model V6 Camry, which is faster to 60 than this car~
Why would they want to put such a small engine in a car? Next time try a Gallo 24.
So even with a near 7.0ltr V16 engine it still had a slower top speed than the Lotus Carlton (3.6ltr twin turbo 377bhp 410lbft the fastest 5 seater saloon for a decade or more!) and hit 60 mph over a second slower (Lotus Carlton 4.8 sec to 60 mph, 10.9 to 100mph top speed at least 176mph but possibly over 180mph!!!!)
Yep, this was a NA engine.
Horsepower, weight and aerodynamics are what counts, engine capacity isnt really important.
Bmw was first one has introduced V16 then the bugatti
Great car. No trunk...
It needs a whole new chassis
mercedes w140 en 1991 600se has 408ps in a M120 engine. other level by far
interesting....
All that to go 0 to 60 in 6 seconds. My car does it in 5 but I 100% respect they made it manual.
25,5hp/ Cylinder 😂
V12 wasn’t big enough lol
408 bhp 😂😂😂😂
Engine swap this in a Smart Car.
Hahahaha. Fake news.