Friends, it’s time for another fish-out-of-water project car. Lifting a BMW 7 Series, installing off-road tires, and wrapping it in a Rothmans livery isn’t something we’d ever thought of. But it’s real. And it’s good. Very, very good.
The BMW in question is a fourth-gen E65 7 Series, which heralded the Chris Bangle design era at BMW starting in 2001. The car’s shape had no shortage of detractors back in the day, but a two-inch suspension lift and Hella quad lights do wonders in to clean up the look. It rides on 18-inch Rota wheels shod with Yokohama Geolanders, giving this luxury sedan a downright cool aesthetic.
And yet, it’s not mean like we often see with off-road builds. The car comes from e65overland on Instagram, with the first post dated June 2023 showing a clean machine in its Rothmans body wrap. It only wore a roof rack and tires at that point; the Arcta tent came later. Scrolling through the various photos/videos, we learn its rear-wheel-drive layout was preserved. Under the hood is BMW’s M57 turbocharged 3.0-liter I6 diesel, breathing through a modified exhaust system and remapped to make 282 horsepower. Poly bushings in the front and a limited-slip differential at the rear are the only other modifications.
Making the adventure even more interesting is the mileage on this Bimmer – 555,555 kilometers per a video post from January 2. That’s 345,205 miles, and we suspect it’s gone up a fair amount since then. We contacted the Instagram account and learned the car is only on its second owner. It was purchased with a busted transmission at 335,000 miles, hence the rebuild. Long-travel coilovers are planned for the summer, which should give the big sedan more off-road capability.
Until then, it’s currently living its best life with regular adventures across Europe. We can’t wait to see the next step on this bonkers BMW build.
