BMW 7 Series (E23)

Overview

BMW 7 Series (E23)

manufacturer	BMW
production	May 1977 – June 1986‡R1R‡ 285,029 built‡R2R‡
assembly	West Germany: Dingolfing South Africa: Rosslyn, Gauteng‡R3R‡
predecessor	BMW E3
successor	BMW 7 Series (E32)
class	Full-size luxury car (F)
body style	4-door sedan/saloon
layout	FR layout
engine	2.5–3.2 L M30 I6 3.2 L M102 turbo I6 3.4 L M106 turbo I6 3.5 L M90 I6 3.5 L M88/3 I6
transmission	4-speed manual 5-speed Getrag manual 3-speed automatic 4-speed automatic
wheelbase	2795 mm‡R4R‡
length	4860 mm‡R4R‡ 5014 mm (US spec)
width	1800 mm‡R4R‡
height	1430 mm‡R4R‡
weight	1470 - 1629 kg
designer	Paul Bracq, Manfred Rennen

The BMW E23 is the first generation of the BMW 7 Series luxury cars and was produced from 1977 until 1986. It was built in a 4-door sedan body style with 6-cylinder engines, to replace the BMW 'New Six' (E3) sedans. From 1983 until 1986, a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine was available.

In 1986, the E23 was replaced by the E32 7 Series, however, the E23 models (called L7) remained on sale in the United States until 1987.

The E23 introduced many electronic features for the first time in a BMW, including an on-board computer, service interval indicator, a "check control panel" (warning lights to indicate system faults to the driver), a dictaphone and complex climate control systems.[5][6] It was also the first BMW to offer an anti-lock braking system (ABS),[7][8]

Special models

725i

The 725i model was not officially sold but produced for West German government agencies which, at the time, were not allowed to have engines larger than 2.5 liter in official cars. In the Netherlands, 2/3 of the government ministers had 725i's as their car of choice, because it just stayed under the maximum budget where the 728i was definitely over it.[19] In total, 921 units were produced.[20]

Turbocharged 745i

The 745i was a high-performance model sold in left-hand-drive European markets from 1979 to 1986. It was initially powered by the M102 engine, which is a turbocharged 3.2 L version of the M30 straight-six engine, producing 185 kW at 9 psi of boost.[21] In 1982, the engine was upgraded to the M106, which increased the capacity to 3.4 litres and the fuel injection system changed from Jetronic to Motronic. Boost pressure was reduced to 6 psi,[22] however power output was unchanged.

All M102 cars were built with a 3-speed ZF 3HP22 automatic transmission. All M106 cars were built with a 4-speed ZF 4HP22 automatic transmission.[22][23] Options included heated front and rear power reclining seats, gasoline fired heater, leather covered cellular telephone, rear-armrest radio control, water buffalo hide upholstery, and burl wood trim.

The name 745i comes from the theoretical assumption that turbocharged engines have approximately 1.4 times more power than naturally aspirated engines. By this assumption, a 3205 cc turbocharged engine would have similar power to a 4487 cc naturally aspirated engine.

South African 745i

The South African 745i model was powered by the naturally aspirated M88/3 engine, instead of the turbocharged M102/M106 engines of the European 745i. A right-hand-drive version of the turbocharged model was not possible due to the turbocharger being located in the right-hand side of the engine bay. Instead, the 745i was fitted with the 210 kW BMW M88 engine, as used in the E24 M635i and E28 M5. The engine uses a 24-valve DOHC valvetrain and the fuel injection system is Bosch ML-Jetronic.

A production run of 192 South African 745i was built from 1983 to 1987, 175 of which were with an automatic gearbox and 17 with a 5-speed manual gearbox.[24][25]

BMW South Africa entered one of these 745i models in Class A of the South African Modified Saloon Car Championship The 745i won the championship in 1985,[26] the only BMW-Sanctioned motorsport application in the history of BMW 7 Series cars.[27]

BMW 7 Series (E23)

Development and production

Engines

Transmissions

Equipment

Yearly changes

1983 facelift

1984

Special models

725i

Turbocharged 745i

South African 745i

United States and Japanese market models

References