How Many Cylinders Does the BMW 730 Engine Have?

[VanDallas]

BMW 730 is equipped with an 8-cylinder engine. The BMW 730 belongs to the BMW 7 Series. Below are detailed introductions about the BMW 7 Series: Overview: The BMW 7 Series is the top luxury sedan series from BMW, featuring a 4-door sedan body style and front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration. The BMW 7 Series is the flagship model of BMW. It is exclusively produced in Germany and replaced the previous generation model, BMW New Six, in 1977. Others: The vehicle dimensions are 5212mm × 1902mm × 1478mm. The fuel tank capacity is 82L. The standard seating capacity is 5. The top speed is 245km/h. The seat material is genuine leather. The acceleration time is 4.6-8.3 seconds (0-100km/h). The braking system features ventilated discs.

[MadelynFitz]

As a long-time owner of the BMW 7 Series, I drive a 2017 730Li. This car was equipped with the B48 model 2.0T four-cylinder turbocharged engine at that time. Many people criticized luxury cars using four-cylinder engines when it was first introduced, but in actual driving, it doesn't feel underpowered. The 204 horsepower is sufficient for daily overtaking. However, the engine vibration during cold starts is indeed more noticeable compared to six-cylinder engines, and you can see slight shaking in the rearview mirror when idling. On the highway, it's very stable. Looking back, BMW was quite smart to use a four-cylinder engine to lower the entry barrier, allowing people with limited budgets to drive a 7 Series. But after 2020, this engine was replaced with a six-cylinder.

[Joyce]

Last month, I accompanied a friend to the 4S dealership to test drive the new 730Li. The salesperson mentioned that the entire 2023 lineup has been upgraded with a 3.0T inline-six engine, model B58TU2. Trying the sport mode and flooring the throttle, the acceleration was more intense than expected—official figures claim 272 horsepower, enabling a 0-100 km/h sprint in just over 6 seconds. Interestingly, the engine bay houses a 48V mild hybrid system, making the start-stop at traffic lights completely seamless. The salesperson emphasized that this generation's six-cylinder engine is even more fuel-efficient than the previous four-cylinder model. I checked the dashboard, which showed 9.2 liters per 100 km, quite surprising for a large 5.2-meter car.

[Kiara]

In repair shops, it's common to see various model years of the 730. The early imported E38 version (1998) was equipped with the M52 inline-six engine, featuring an iron block paired with an aluminum cylinder head. The current G12 series on the road comes in two variants: the pre-2019 730i used a four-cylinder 2.0T, with chassis codes containing the letter B indicating the B48 engine; after the 2019 facelift, although the tail badge remained unchanged, the 730Li quietly switched to a 3.0T inline-six. The most straightforward way to tell them apart is to open the engine bay—the four-cylinder engine leaves a noticeably large empty space horizontally.

[JulianaLee]

Researching BMW's engine layouts is quite fascinating. In the 730 model name, the '30' originally corresponded to a 3.0-liter displacement. However, in 2016, BMW pulled a sneaky move: labeling a four-cylinder engine as 730. Although the newer models have reverted to six-cylinder engines, they still retain the 730 naming, making it impossible to distinguish the number of cylinders just by looking at the badge. In fact, there's also a 730d diesel version in Germany, equipped with the B57 six-cylinder diesel engine producing 254 horsepower and a torque of 700 N·m, but unfortunately, it wasn't introduced in China. To confirm the specific configuration, you'd need to check the 7th letter of the VIN.

[McVivienne]

Last week, I helped a colleague inspect a used 730Li and found that special attention should be paid to the engine code when purchasing. The 2016-2018 models are equipped with a B48B20 four-cylinder engine, with chassis code G12 Bxx; after 2019, it was changed to a B58B30 six-cylinder engine, with the chassis becoming G12 Cxx. The key difference is that the later six-cylinder version has an additional Double-VANOS valve timing system, resulting in significantly less noise when cold. Personally, I recommend prioritizing post-2019 facelift models when buying used—the six-cylinder's smoothness is far superior at the same price point, and you don't have to worry about the common coolant leakage issues of the four-cylinder engine.