This Fake BMW 7 Series Hides A Real 7 Series Underneath

BMW’s latest 7 Series is highly controversial, at least as far as internet debate goes. But it’s the newest, and that means this luxury flagship is the best as far as actual people looking at a BMW on the road are concerned.

A new 7 is a big-dollar purchase, setting you back well over six figures, even for the most basic model. What do you do, then, if you need baller looks on a ramen budget?

You build yourself one using an older and unloved 7 Series generation, of course. Ok, maybe that’s not an “of course” because it absolutely would not have occurred to us. It did to this owner in India, though, who has put an F01-chassis 7 through a very thorough transformation.

2010 Model Becomes A 2024 Thanks To Lots Of Work

An Indian company called Autokrafte, which bills itself as a carwash and custom shop, is responsible for this transformed BMW. It started with a 2010-model 7 which, while not the Bangle-butt Bimmer (still the best-selling 7er to date) that was the generation that came before, is still not one of the most beautiful 7s on the market. The plus side is that it was probably a cheaper place to start. And it is still a 7 on the inside.

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The video showing off the build is disappointingly short. We’d have loved to see more about this transformation and watch it come to fruition.

Early on in the clip at the bottom of this article, you can get a good idea as to exactly how much the team had to do. Just look at the stack of parts sitting beside the pre-conversion BMW. It required cutting away bumpers, reshaping the hood and fenders, and then a lot of very intricate paintwork to capture whatever it is BMW is doing with the latest car.

It’s Not Perfect, But It’s Not Far Off

The finished job might not be perfect – there are several panel gaps, after all. But they’re certainly not worse than a lot of factory-fresh cars we see from other – albeit lesser – brands these days.

A current BMW 7 uses one of several gas and diesel engines ranging from a 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six making 286 horsepower to a 4.4-liter V8 making 544. That’s before the electric i7, which makes even more power.

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The model used for the conversion is a 730LD, the long-wheelbase version of that generation. Its 3.0-liter N57 six-cylinder turbodiesel makes 241 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque – not quite modern standards, but not bad at all.

As far as the cost? A new 7 in India will set you back ₹1,84,20,000, or around $215,000. We’re not sure how much a 2010 model costs, but it’s probably a very small fraction. And the body shop costs are going to be a lot lower-priced than stateside as well.

This conversion probably ended up with less than $20,000 put into it. If you want to stand out with what looks like the newest ride, that’s probably not a bad spend.

H/T: Carscoops