The best 7 Series in the 45-year history of the Bavarian luxury sedan. This is how many die-hard enthusiasts will decribe the E38 iteration of the 1990s. As such, not too many people think of gutting the interior and adding a wing. But this is only natural when talking about the 7 Series IMSA race car being portrayed in this digital fantasy that started out with a real 1998 BMW 740iL.
With out without a bit of squinting, this flaship luxury sedan might have you believing you’re looking at the racing incarnation of the compact executive sedan that is the M3. And while most of the credit goes to BMW, a digital artist who happens to own one of these 7 Series in real life is responsible for the improbable motorsport transformation showcased in this rendering.
Now, if you will allow it, we’ll start with what this three-decade old Bimmer is all about before moving on to how is became an IMSA race car in the pixel realm.
Remember the Ultimate Driving Machine?
The said third iteration of BMW’s flagship sedan marked the final years of an era when the company was solely focused on delivering the ultimate driving machine. And those three words weren’t just marketing. Any Bimmer from those times, regardless of the size or engine, stood by them.
And while the Germans would inject more luxury, along with cutting-edge technology into their future cars, such as the still-controversial Bangle-era E65 7 Series that replaced the E38 in 2001, many still lust for the days when the market allowed car companies to offer such dedicated approaches.
Now, despite BMW design being the source of heated debate these days, the 7 Series, up to an including the recent split-headlight G70, has managed to maintain its characteristic silhouette. This makes it seem like a much smaller car that’s still on a mission to assist its driver in putting the pedal to the metal.
After all, racing entered the DNA of the 7 Series in the early 1980s, when the ever-daring BMW South Africa created a 745i race car out of the previous E23 generation, using an M1 mid-engined sportscar-linked M88 straight-six motor.
Nevertheless, to return to the point made in the intro, no generation does it better than the E38. And one way of understanding why that is involves looking at how the Bavarians tackled their smallest sedan of the 90s, the E36 3 Series.
These days, emission regulations over in Europe means more and more carmakers are keeping the good, sporty stuff outside the Old Continent. However, things weren’t always so. For one, back in the days of the E36 M3, the first six-cylinder iteration of the badge, the potent engine of the Euro model didn’t make it Stateside due to (you guessed it) emission rules.
And while the US-spec E36 M3 was seriously down on power (Mihnea doesn’t agree with Doug DeMuro on what this means for American buyers today), BMW decided to change things by introducing a racecar of the sort that would exert IMSA dominance.
Named M3 GTR, this racer would climb to the top of the podium between 1996 and 1998, in an time when the grid was filled with Porsche 911 Carrera RSRs and Mazda RX-7s. And that wide-arched racing coupe, which also brought North America its M3 Lightweight road special back in the day, served as the inspiration for this 7er—fire-spitting side pipes? Yes, please!
At just 22, digital artist Abimelec Arellano (aka abimelecdesign) shows a solid understating of the automotive phenomenon. And if it’s proof that you seek, this fresh rendering is an example as good as any.
Some might even accuse the pixel master of being a BMW fetishist. And we expect them to be right. After all, he is the creator of the digital sensation that is the Alpina Supra, and this SEMA-headed real-life mix between American muscle and Bavarian might. Besides, he got himself a 1998MY BMW 740iL as a daily back in May. The artist paid no more than $1,000 for the car, but, as he explains on Instagram, “the main stuff [e.g., V8, AC] works”.
And now that we’ve briefly covered the history of the E38 7 Series and the said artist, doesn’t this IMSA conversion for the luxury sedan seem natural?
An IMSA BMW 7 Series E38 almost feels like it was meant to be
As any keen driver can tell you, impressive lap times start with the rubber. So, this 7er packs meaty tires wrapped around modern classic wheels that hide super-sized brakes. This explains the widebody.
And while the wing is borrowed from the said M3 GTR circuit tool, the vented hood is borrwed from the next-gen 3-Series. More specifically, this comes from the E46 M3 GTR, which had a V8 when the rest of the time’s M3s packed came two cylinders short (you might know this as a Need for Speed hero car).
Of course, the vehicle is covered in a period-correct livery, while peeking inside reveals that the lavish ammenities have been traded for a weight-saving approach, ableit with a roll cage now on the menu.
Now, we did omit one aspect in the intro: when most BMW aficionados think of this 7 Series generation, they picture the 1998 facelift (1999MY), with its sculpted headlights. Then again, being on the creative side of such an emotional rendering does have its perks…
