Motorweek 1988 BMW 750iL (E32) Road Test

[@Sawubona2007]

My first car was an E32 735iL. What a chassis, what an engine that M30 was! A perfect combination of sport and luxury.

[@daniel-ino]

My first car was a 50 HP Peugeot diesel

[@Sawubona2007]

@@daniel-ino That's amazing, tell me more me about it. I've heard and read that Peugeot diesels are reliable cars.

[@jasperdilincoln2341]

I was only 6 in '88. But i remember when my Grandparents was looking at Cadillac's they went to this large Luxury Dealership's that sold Domestic & Foreign Vehicles. And the BMW and Jags I saw had Circle Headlights. As a kid i thought was strange when other Cars had Square ones...lol

[@ravipeiris4388]

I was a college freshman with my 1973 VW Beetle in 1988 when this V12 came out. I now drive a V12 6.0 liter Maybach. Still my VW will always hold a special place in my heart 🎉.

[@roddydykes7053]

Ok 👍

[@robertsaca3512]

Cool story bro.

[@millennialpoes5674]

Sure you do 😅

[@gemspotting6252]

Worst “I have a maybach” comment ever

[@edmmitch]

I was riding my bike one day in 1983 when I saw a bird shitting on a Peugeot. But nothing compares to my Casio wristwatch.

[@shawnz241]

The car I always dreamed about… had the 560SEL of the same year and always wondered what the alternative was.

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

The World's best luxury car in 1987!

[@stefanlundblad7693]

I had an 1988 735 with slip diff, as the 750 also had.

[@KingCast65]

I remember I was a valet when these came out and one of our customers had a black manual 735i but never drove the 12. Today I still have a 535is.

[@RainbowVibes1708]

I own a '92 750il. I love it.

[@PeterRoos]

Lovely car, back then and today. I had one of these back in the 90s. A beast to maintain though, once the electronics start to get flaky.

[@stoneylonesome4062]

That was the advantage Mercedes had. Especially with their diesels. They were almost entirely analogue. Hence, why you don’t see any of those old BMW’s driving around as anyone’s daily drivers these days. Ultimately, time is the best judge of what’s the best, engineering-wise.

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

@@stoneylonesome4062 That is a very debatable point. I would disagree with your comment on Mercedes being the better car. BMW did engineer these exceptionally well and so were built to last. To be honest, I have not seen a Mercedes W126 in years! Besides some of these cars are still around.

[@saveyourhero3307]

@@madhanaekanayake2187I have seen more W126’s on the road than E32’s. I love both but I’ll say that Mercedes-Benz are more robust

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

@@saveyourhero3307 Nope. The BMW is equally robust. Obviously there will be more W126s, they sold hell of a lot more of them.

[@saveyourhero3307]

@@madhanaekanayake2187 I never owned an E32 but I would love to someday.

[@jpadicecoffee9812]

This car made me a believer in BMW. At my college age, this car would be halfway smoothly through the next block while my Corolla made only it to the facing crosswalk.

[@VideoAmericanStyle]

Kind of nuts to think $70k back then would be nearly $180k today. A 760i today (not the same, I know) starts under $120k!

[@VideoAmericanStyle]

@@jonathanmccully5678 …sure I can. I just did.

[@nwezetx1]

​​@Jonathan McCully They'll never get it, as they're too simple or in OP's case, laser focused on one perspective.

[@VideoAmericanStyle]

@@jonathanmccully5678 …okay. Even though it does, and is useful as a conceptual approximation. But sure.

[@caseinnitratjr6861]

They aren’t the same cars anymore. There is quite a big difference

[@VideoAmericanStyle]

@@caseinnitratjr6861 …that’s not the point. The inflation-adjusted comparison is to establish the relative value of their top-level executive sedan at that time in today’s dollars. Secondarily, I highlighted their current top offering in that class, which even fully loaded is barely at $150k. Manufacturing efficiency is partly to credit for the overall price of German cars to have fallen in relative terms, but there are other macroeconomic factors as well. Bottom line: these were very expensive cars in the 80s.

[@apolloares6114]

old days good days

[@sergunneaa]

Best luxury car

[@bilalahmed2123]

Beautiful vehicle

[@harrycallahan9733]

1:40 If that phone can still make calls today, it'll be a new status symbol all over again :)

[@Andreas1986xyz]

IT works fine today

[@houseofno]

@@Andreas1986xyz That's an analog cellphone. AT&T deactivated its last analog cellphone tower sometime around February 2002.

[@Andreas1986xyz]

@@houseofno no it's not. it is an D-Netz cellphone. i have an e34 with the same phone and it works with every regular D-Netz sim card. At least in Germany.

[@houseofno]

@@Andreas1986xyz Germany has completely different laws from USA. What works in Germany is not typically applicable to USA. You have TUV inspections. We do not. You have an autobahn. We do not. I could go on and on with examples but hopefully you get the idea already.

[@Andreas1986xyz]

@@houseofno yeah, but the car is an e32 and the e32 was never equipped with an analogue cell phone:) it was, as i said, an digital one, which in principle can be used today.

[@FranoPetarCRO]

Masterpiece

[@Lucas-nh2mk]

I love this boat❤

[@jayburris6252]

Too perfect leather? Searching much?

[@leenevin8451]

Better than the new ones. I’ve never been In 760 tho

[@niosanfrancisco]

When the 750 came out the service centers got delivered 12 binders of product improvements. it was quite a mess.

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

So was the Mercedes 560 sel!

[@Cayres9]

Cool Hands free Mobile phone in 1988

[@nwezetx1]

This is late 1987.

[@roddydykes7053]

Man that thing could freaking bounce

[@Maybe1Someday]

Describing the BMW E32 as oppressive is hilarious

[@roddydykes7053]

Well it kinda would continue that aura if you think about the sort of people that would drive these new in those days

[@acmeopinionfactory8018]

The interior came in other colors.

[@leenevin8451]

Worst interior colour

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

The Mercedes W126 is plain retarded

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

As if the Mercedes W126 was oppressive..😂😂

[@VDPEFi]

I had 3x e32s, I actually liked the 735i 6 cyl the best, the v12 was a bit lazy and extremely complicated and the V8 blew it's 'modern' 5 speed automatic

[@christophercolumbus8944]

that interior is BORING

[@monk3yboy69]

That interior was pure luxury in its time. Nothing boring about it. …..for the time. How old are you?

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

@@christophercolumbus8944 this guy is an idiot

[@leenevin8451]

I bet these ride and handle close to a how a brand new one does

[@sammik3959]

The last real BMW

[@GeeEm1313]

I used to see a lot of theee back in Maryland. I thought the badge read "75Oil"

[@nwezetx1]

That is correct though. In DMV area, definitely 750iL V12.

[@roddydykes7053]

Referring to how many oil leaks it has

[@HumanStateOfEmergency]

V12 0-60 in 6.6 seconds. How times have changed.

[@houseofno]

Somewhat exaggerated. Car and Driver tested the acceleration for the 1988 750iL 0-60 at 7.5 seconds.

[@RayNLA]

Does anyone remember when you could buy a fake plastic car phone that came with a stick on antenna for the back window? 😂

[@acmeopinionfactory8018]

Always fun when someone breaks into your car to steal your fake phone. Phone theft was big back in those days.

[@RayNLA]

@@acmeopinionfactory8018 And the service was about a dollar a minute!

[@acmeopinionfactory8018]

@@RayNLA Nah- forty five cents a minute daytime, less after nine PM and weekends. I had a Mitsubishi 6000 phone starting in '89 and my bill (company paid) was usually around three hundred dollars a month. Which is roughly six times what I pay now.

[@RayNLA]

@@acmeopinionfactory8018 Got it! Thanks for the correction

[@houseofno]

No idea why someone would steal a forty pound base unit and a similarly brick sized handset, especially today. The last analog celltower was decommissioned by AT&T sometime in February 2002.

[@Dirhem1168]

Is the best series 7 of al ages

[@greghmn]

BMW with a 300 hp V12 in 1988: "More cylinders means less work per cylinder, reducing vibration" Ford with a 75 hp I6 in 1975: "...Yeah, that's...um...that's why we..." Toyota with a 300 hp I3 in 2023: *looks away and starts whistling*

[@nvkulk]

Last of the real BMWS

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Last u could afford.

[@markomesic6719]

I am driving right now this car in paradise.

[@rhmanaijnibi7326]

حلو

[@andybrooks7908]

Was it just me or did it smoke from exhaust wen it launched , 3min 11 sec

[@martinspannring5711]

Perfect engeneering!

[@unowen-nh9ov]

While Mercedes Was Sleeping.

[@gersonc.2737]

The first BMW that made Mercedes Benz scared.

[@311superfly]

Also rear adjustsble seat are Heavy! Remove them and get high 5's o to 60 mph.?

[@AlexIsUber]

High pressure headlight washers ?

[@BenjaminMukwaira]

After this 7 mercedes new they had a real contender

[@michaelstokley6796]

Maintenance nightmare now. It cost what to repair that.

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

Same with Mercedes unfortunately!

[@vintagehaynesflute]

I had a few BMWs before and I decided to buy a 1988 750iL and it was crap. Name a part and it broke. Engine was ok but the bells and whistles never worked right. It finally got bought it back under the lemon law. Then I became a Mercedes Benz owner and never looked back

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

Yeah right! Absolute bullshit! Expect me to believe this from a die-hard Mercedes fan.🤣🤣

[@vintagehaynesflute]

@@madhanaekanayake2187 do you eat with that mouth?

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

@@vintagehaynesflute What type of Mercedes clown are you?

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

Mercedes fanboy talking shite

[@DTM.Desperado]

Ive got an e32 750il, hoping to put a turbo on it 😂

[@thewiseguy3529]

They need an 8.0L v12 version now.

[@zeroturn7091]

Had a chance to buy one in the early 2000s for $8K, but it was in really bad shape. If I were single I would’ve made the purchase and restored the car.

[@zillsburyy1]

lol V12

[@maureencora1]

My Favorite BMW 7 Series is 1990s E38s.

[@briansukhu4392]

Pre-Bluetooth

[@francescobalestrieri7096]

300 hp from a V12? The Motor in my 1995 SL500 the M119 5.0 V8 makes 322hp. And the Mercedes M120 V12 that came out a couple of years later makes 389hp from 6.0. This isn’t much from a 12 cylinder

[@f30lolz29]

Agreed. Wish BMW would have used at least S70 power in the 7/8 50's and used even more power in the 850csi.

[@joestuff8]

This style of engine at the time was focused on effortless driving comfort and not performance. Low revs, less engine strain, and smooth acceleration and cruising.

[@777jones]

The car still would run to 250 kph. It was powerful enough.

[@jean-jacquesdelacroix2112]

Besides that it was (in Europe at least) the beginning of unleaded fuel : octane level was not everywhere as it should). For this reason, the engineers designed the engine with a rather low compression level. The consequence was that the power it delivered was not sky high for a 5L engine.

[@alexmercer8042]

Couple of years hahah. 750 came out in mid 87, S600/M120 in general, debuted in April 1991. 4 years is ages in car terms

[@311superfly]

And thats Without tinted glass!

[@abdozokra6032]

E32 LCI 🤔1992-1994

[@sannissansanjuan5074]

As the Intro, You Don' t Hear Audi

[@cop2506]

My Prius ride is quieter than the bmw. 62db. I think I did an amazing job at reducing NVH myself

[@ArslanAhmad1]

Lol shitty battery compare with v12 😂

[@romulus_]

it doesn't have an engine to produce noise. it feels like a cheap toy. chintzy.

[@javierinvisuale4191]

Mercedes Benz w126 560 sel THE BEST

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

Piece of junk

[@christophercolumbus8944]

that antenna is hideous

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

MERCEDES SUCKS😅😅

[@christophercolumbus8944]

@@madhanaekanayake2187 how does mercedes suck ?

[@madhanaekanayake2187]

@@christophercolumbus8944 because they are shit

[@houseofno]

The V12 block is NOT made of aluminum, but a nickel-silicon alloy. BMW needed something with increased strength and less weight than aluminum. The downside here is that the bores cannot be honed or machined. If the liners get scored, the entire block must be scrapped.

[@acmeopinionfactory8018]

You're even stupider here than you are about cell phones. The blocks were made of an ALUMINUM nickel silicon alloy, usually called Nickasil, Which consists of more than ninety percent ALUMINUM to which a small (tiny) amount of other metals were alloyed. An alloy of just nickel and silicon would be ridiculously heavy and bank-breakingly expensive. Is there anything else you know absolutely nothing about?

[@augustneverends]

The M70 is an aluminum block. And the problems you are describing are with the M60 V8 not the V12.

[@jean-jacquesdelacroix2112]

​@@augustneverendsindeed... the so called NICASIL

[@nathanhardin8530]

Things have changed. My F-150 is faster than that car.

[@houseofno]

You don't need a $40k+ truck to out accelerate this car. A Corolla could do it for half the price. Let's keep it a fair competition. In 1988, the highest powered F150 you could buy was a 460 (7.5L V8) putting out around 230 hp but over 400 pounds of torque. Even so, the 750iL would both out accelerate the truck and dust it past 120 mph once the truck ran out of breath. The 750iL would continue to accelerate until it reached its 155 mile an hour electronically limited top speed. On the other hand, the 750iL isn't designed for heavy duty towing. Towing is essentially what your truck was built for, then as well as now.

[@nathanhardin8530]

@houseofno I was talking about my 2015 F-150 with a Turbo V6 that can accelerate faster than that V12 car. I never said they were the same or designed to do the same.

[@houseofno]

@@nathanhardin8530 an apples to oranges comparison. Also irrelevant.

[@nathanhardin8530]

@@houseofno Nobody asked your opinion or cares about what you think is irrelevant.

[@augustneverends]

@@nathanhardin8530 I'm in the unique position of being a former F150(2018 STX) owner and a former 750iL (1989) owner. Yes, the Ford is objectively quicker in a straight line but the BMW felt faster and far more composed in curves and bends. And when you consider how much older the BMW is it still felt impressively solid and the tech is still useful. The car was starting to need some really expensive upkeep which is why I sold it: I leased the F150 so it was brand new and the only maintenance it needed for the three years I had it were oil changes and rear brake pads.

[@christophercolumbus8944]

mercedes never competed with any other cars but themselves

[@VideoAmericanStyle]

Nor did BMW at the time, frankly. They were truly drivers' cars. Nothing the Americans or Japanese made even came close, and as you say, Mercedes was in its own league for refinement and luxury.

[@jean-jacquesdelacroix2112]

That is why they then had to delay the launch of the new s-class (w140) reengineering it to fit a 12 cylinders engine as well...😅😅 Finally in 1991 they were ready !

[@christophercolumbus8944]

@@jean-jacquesdelacroix2112 that was from doug muro right? you compare the two cars but in reality they're totally different cars last time i checked the dictators were ordering mercedes not BMWs lol

[@nwezetx1]

​@@christophercolumbus8944 That's not from Doug Demuro. He didn't even get the info right anyway. A high performance braking system and 12 cylinder engine added 18 months to the program. Originally was supposed to be December 1989 introduction. BMW also delayed E32 from 1985 launch, to accommodate similar changes and widen the car.

[@christophercolumbus8944]

@@nwezetx1 BMW had 12 cylinder engines in 1986 what's your point? when did mercedes start making 12 cylinder engines ? and how is that relevant BMW still sucks worst engines ever lol you would have to CONSTANTLY maintain them you would have to be a mechanic to be able to keep up with up with the problems.

[@robertsaca3512]

Dated poorly versus the benz.

[@311superfly]

I prefer BMW way of doing big cars. Style

[@HAMMER8181]

A cellular phone antenna!