BMW 7 Series E38

The E38 is the BMW 7 Series generation our specification records cover for US model years 1995–2001. Across that run EPA certified 22 versions of it for sale in America, under 6 trim names. It was sold as a sedan.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E38 measures 196.1 in · 4,981 mm to 201.6 in · 5,121 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 115.4 in · 2,931 mm to 120.9 in · 3,071 mm and weighs 4,145 lb · 1,880 kg to 4,597 lb · 2,085 kg. Length and wheelbase come from Transport Canada, which measures every vehicle sold in North America; curb weight from the same source.

Set against the E32 that preceded it, the E38 is 2.8 inches longer at the shortest version and 309 lb · 140 kg heavier at the lightest. Both figures are taken from the lightest and shortest version we hold for each, so they compare like with like rather than setting a base car against a loaded one.

Every version we hold under this code is rear-wheel drive. That matters on the used market more than it looks: which axles are driven changes the weight, the service list and the price, and the badge does not always say which you are looking at.

Gaps are left as gaps. We do not hold horsepower for 8, because EPA began recording certified output usefully only in the late 1990s. A dash on this site means the figure is not in a source we can name, never that it is roughly the same as the row above.