BMW Individual gives 760Li a Sterling reputation

Thu, 24 Oct 2013

Standard chrome too plebeian for your taste? You can order a Rolls-Royce with its Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament made out of just about anything you want: gold, silver, glass... you name it. But if your sense of style is a bit less Anglo and a bit more Saxon, BMW has another option for you.

Feast your eyes on the BMW Individual 760Li Sterling edition. (But don't look directly at it. Don't you dare.) Crafted in partnership between BMW Individual and the silversmiths at Robbe & Berking, the special 7 Series is adorned with hammered sterling silver trim inside and out. The twin-kidney grille, the emblems, the interior trim panels... all hand-made in silver. So you won't want to park this particular Bimmer in the wrong neighborhood, because unlike the Rolls ornament, these don't retract safely under the hood.

The special edition gets a dark grey exterior tint and brown leather interior, the best to highlight the silver brightwork. Otherwise it's mechanically identical to any other 760Li (or so we would presume, as the press release didn't mention specifically), that being the flagship version of BMW's flagship sedan, complete with 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 at the front end of a long wheelbase. Check it out in the gallery above, including the build process at both BMW Individual and Robbe & Berking, and press release below.

BMW Individual 760Li Sterling inspired by ROBBE&BERKING, Exterior. (10/2013)

A manufactory implies one-off products, traditional craftsmanship, perfection and the fulfilment of the most discerning requirements. Those are the principles which the BMW Individual Manufaktur has followed for more than 20 years now. What began in the early 1990s as a bespoke BMW 750Li for Karl Lagerfeld has since evolved into a byword for customisation at the very highest level. "The BMW Individual Manufaktur is not so much a place as an idea that becomes reality on a daily basis. That idea is total customer orientation," explains Friedrich Nitschke, President BMW M GmbH. "Here each vision of exclusivity is turned into reality." But BMW Individual not only creates one-of-a-kind automobiles, it also designs and completes market-specific special editions and models, for example in its collaborations with watchmaker Girard Perregaux or with the renowned concert grand manufacturers Steinway & Sons. Besides the BMW Individual Manufaktur there is also the BMW Individual Collection, which rounds off the BMW Individual offering with equipment ranges that are perfectly matched to the various BMW model series and include exclusive paint finishes, high-quality leather appointments and interior trims.

Striving for perfection.

Through its joint ventures with renowned enterprises, the BMW Individual Manufaktur has in recent years managed to push the envelope further while at the same time setting new benchmarks for exclusivity. The highlight to date is the BMW Individual 760Li Sterling inspired by ROBBE & BERKING. ROBBE & BERKING are among the most tradition-steeped silver manufacturers of our day. Each of their products is an expression of consummate craftsmanship and corroborates the company claim to create pleasure not just for a lifetime but for generations. "BMW and ROBBE & BERKING share far more than a passion for elegant, classic yachts – we apply the same standards to our products: in addition to pure technical utility, pleasing the customer is a foreground consideration," explains Oliver Berking, the fifth-generation owner and CEO of ROBBE & BERKING. "At the same time our products embody the ethos of the manufactory – a striving towards perfect craftsmanship and timeless elegance coupled with keen attention to the smallest detail. The BMW Individual 760Li Sterling inspired by ROBBE & BERKING is a wonderful illustration of this."

Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, adds this: "On my first visit to ROBBE & BERKING, I was particularly impressed by the high degree of tradition-led handcraftsmanship and the rigorous pursuit of optimal solutions. That passion is also the hallmark of our shared product."

By Noah Joseph