In the event you’re a BMW fanatic, you already know the attention-grabbing story behind the elusive Goldfisch. It was a 7 Collection prototype introduced internally again in July 1988 with a mighty V16 engine. Nonetheless, the undertaking wasn’t authorised for manufacturing. To our shock, the German luxurious model didn’t abandon the concept of cramming sixteen cylinders underneath the hood of its flagship automobile. It seems there was one other automobile, constructed two years later.

Making its public debut this week on the Techno-Classica Essen, this 1990 7 Collection prototype appears to be in a timeline someplace between an E32 and an E38. The latter entered improvement in early 1988 however didn’t go into manufacturing till February 1994. Whereas the earlier V16 Goldfish had fiberglass ducts on the rear fenders for the radiators mounted on the again, this packaging concern was seemingly solved with the next prototype. It has a cleaner profile, with out the bulges above the rear wheel arches.

The V16 engine used within the newer automobile was a 6646 cc unit that made 348 horsepower at 5,000 rpm. Output was channeled to the street through a five-speed automated transmission in a 7 Collection that was capable of attain 155 mph (250 km/h). It’s value nothing the earlier Goldfish primarily based on the E32 had a barely bigger 6651cc engine with 400 hp on faucet. As well as, the older prototype dubbed 767iL (aka “The Secret Seven”) got here with a six-speed handbook gearbox as an alternative.

These outputs may not appear a lot by 2024 requirements contemplating the M340i packs 382 hp from simply six cylinders. Nonetheless, in the course of the E32 period, the 7 Collection 750i with the V12 engine had solely 296 hp, so 400 hp would’ve been an enormous leap in energy. Let’s bear in mind these large-displacement engines have been naturally aspirated versus present turbocharged models.

Manufacturing vehicles with V16 engines have been few and much between, with the most well-liked being the Cizeta-Moroder V16T from the early Nineties. Later this 12 months, Bugatti will unveil a brand new hypercar geared up with a brand-new V16 that can exchange the venerable W16 utilized by the Chiron and Veyron. [Source: BMW Group Classic / Instagram, BMW Group Classic / Facebook]