• Only two owners from new

 • Sold new through BMW’s flagship Park Lane dealership

 • Equipped with every conceivable luxury, from the finest leather to two telephones and a television

BMW’s reputation for high-quality construction and engineering is well-deserved, but there have been few better examples of it than the 7 Series of 1994-2001. The flagship of the BMW fleet started with the ‘basic’ 728i, a sharp and luxurious car in its own right, but with a choice of wheelbases, engines and other options, you could really go to town and end up with a BMW to rival any Rolls-Royce or Bentley.

The top of the line model was the 750iL (‘L’ for long-wheelbase) with its 5.4-litre V12, but the 740iL came just behind it with its 4.4-litre V8. Although not strictly a limousine in coachbuilding terms due to the absence of an interior partition, it is a limousine to all intents and purposes, with as much legroom afforded to the rear passengers as to the front ones. It was always intended as a car for BMW’s most valued clients, with the expectation that they would have a chauffeur to drive while they reclined in the sumptuous rear.

Of course, the 740iL, being essentially a road-going version of a luxury ocean liner, was very expensive when new and sold only in very limited numbers, so it was rare then and is rarer still today. It also belongs to the very exclusive pantheon of Bond cars; Pierce Brosnan’s 007 drove a gadget-laden example (disguised as a 750iL) in Tomorrow Never Dies. It is still very modern in both its appearance and its appointments, so it remains the ideal car for a high-flying captain of industry.

 • First registered on 8th September 1999 and originally sold through BMW’s flagship London dealership at 78 Park Lane

 • Sold new to one John Richardson of Golders Green, who we are told intended to ship it out to the Middle East

 • Purchased by the vendor from Sytner BMW of Nottingham on 21st June 2001, since when it has led a quiet life in Bedfordshire

 • Paperwork includes the current V5 and an extensive collection of MoT certificates dating back to 2010

 • There is an extensive collection of invoices totalling thousands of pounds

 • All the original factory literature is present, including the Owner’s Handbook and the instruction books for the car telephone and the on-board monitor with television

 • A comprehensive service record has been kept in the Service Booklet

 • Champagne leather with Midnight Blue piping carpets

 • A virtually TARDIS-like interior with no shortage of passenger space and every conceivable luxury fitting

 • Amazingly well preserved and looking almost as good as new

Even if you live your life going between first-class lounges and executive suites, the degree of sheer luxury contained within this BMW is uncommon by anyone’s standards. With smooth, supple Champagne-coloured leather complemented with highlights of royal blue, soft carpets and the generous but tastefully restrained application of walnut, we’d struggle to think of many cars which have quite so pleasant an interior as a well-specified 7 Series.

The car has been exceptionally well cared-for over its life, so the interior survives almost like new. The seats have been permitted to mellow just a little bit, so the leather has matured and is all the better for having just a few light creases in it, and we’d struggle to find fault with anything else. The doors, dash, centre console, carpets and headlining are simply superb.

You can have no end of amusement playing with the car’s various dials and switches and discovering its array of luxuries. The electric sunroof will be a very welcome feature in the warmer months, you can feel reassured by the double-glazed security glass, and you may even find a use for the two telephones and the television monitor. Then again, these days an in-car ’phone may be surplus to requirements, but you can enjoy it as a historical curiosity.

Other little niceties include air-conditioning, electric windows, parking sensors, an electrically-adjustable steering column, automatically-dimming rear-view mirror, alarm and immobiliser, armrests, electric seats, electric window blinds – you certainly get a lot for your money.

 • Extremely original and well-preserved

 • Long, low and slightly menacing looks thanks to a wheelbase of almost 17ft

 • The alloy wheels are in especially good condition

For presence on the road, a car like the 740iL is hard to beat. It’s business-like but understated; it subtly indicates the status of its occupant without shouting about it. If it was good enough for James Bond, why shouldn’t it be good enough for any of us?

The BMW has always been garaged, and it shows in its excellent state of preservation. It has picked up a few cosmetic blemishes over the years, but on the whole it is remarkably good. The paint has a few very light scratches in places and the corners of the bumpers are lightly scuffed, but there’s little else to find fault with. The paint could easily be brought up to a near-new standard with a quick detailing session, should you be of a perfectionist mindset.

We are most impressed by the wheels. Given the size of the BMW, it would be forgivable if they had been kerbed just once or twice in their life, but if they have been it doesn’t show. While there are a few very light marks which look to be just a result of age and use, there is barely any evidence of scuffing around the rim.

Everything else is excellent, too. In most places, the glass is unblemished, although there are some marks on the driver’s side door mirror which may be a result of delamination. At the moment, it is only mild and does not seriously compromise rearward visibility. Most of the chrome and badges are also in very good order, although there is a little bit of blistering appearing underneath the chrome around the boot handle.

When all is said and done, these are very minor flaws for a 23-year-old car and it still looks phenomenally good. You’d struggle to find one better.

 • 4.4-litre V8 with automatic gearbox

 • Passed its MoT in July 2021 with minimal advisory points

 • Thousands of pounds spent on mechanical maintenance over the years

The prodigious V8 hidden discreetly beneath the 740’s unassuming exterior really does represent BMW engineering at its best. In town traffic, you’d have no idea just what a powerful engine you have before you, so quiet and controlled is it, but it’ll provide plenty of oomph when you need it. Despite its length, the power steering makes it wonderfully straightforward to manoeuvre. The automatic gearbox and the absorbent suspension let the car ride like a featherbed, and the brakes are sharp and effective.

The car has always received maintenance as and when necessary and it has an impressive MoT record going back to 2010. It passed its most recent MoT in July 2021, with just a few advisory points being made, namely that there was a minor coolant leak and some light corrosion on the rear brake hoses.

As we say, any problems that have arisen have not been ignored and perhaps the most significant work on the car in recent years occurred in February 2020, when it had the cylinder head skimmed.

In talking of luxury cars, we might not place BMW in quite the same league as Rolls-Royce and Bentley but, really, the long-wheelbase 7 Series is of exactly the same class. The only real difference would be that, where the British manufacturers have maintained a traditional and conservative approach, BMW has always embraced modernity in every respect.

This 740iL embodies that attitude. Its styling still looks fresh even as the model nears its 30th birthday, and the interior is full of gadgets which remain uncommon in cars today, but which were almost fantastical in the 1990s. If you can find another 740iL on the market, chances are it won’t have been as well cared-for as this one, with just two owners from new and the interesting distinction of having been bought new from BMW’s flagship London dealership. If you really want to live the high life, it wouldn’t do to settle for anything less than this.