{"id":15121001,"date":"2026-05-25T16:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T20:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T23:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T03:01:22","slug":"junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7\/","title":{"rendered":"Junkyard Find: 1986 BMW L7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Out of all the ostentatious European machinery that became wealth-flaunting signifiers for newly rich Americans during the middle 1980s, which was the cocainiest<\/a>?<\/i> I’ve found a discarded example of one of the strongest contenders for that title, now residing in a Denver car graveyard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the honor of Cocainiest Car of the Middle 1980s is a two-way tie between two BMWs: the E24 L6<\/a> and the E23 L7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

I’ve been looking for L6s and L7s in the boneyards<\/a> since I started doing this job nearly 20 years ago, and today’s car is the first after all that time (not counting ones that were too crashed and\/or stripped to be recognizable). The best I’d been able to do prior to now is this street-parked L6 I shot on the Island That Rust Forgot for the Down on the Street series<\/a>, back in 2007.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

There are other contenders for Cocainiest Car of the Middle 1980s, of course. I think all qualifiers must be European; Japanese machinery was too sensible, American luxury cars were for old people and the C4 Corvette was for track geeks. A strong candidate is the Mercedes-Benz W126 coupe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The argument could be made that the Europe-only turbocharged 745i version of the E23 7 Series<\/a> was even cocainier than the L7, and the shady entrepreneurs importing gray-market European luxury machines would have known their way around a rolled-up $100 bill. Discuss.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

A powerful case can be made for the Maserati Biturbo<\/a>, ownership of which demonstrated to the world that its owner had the cashflow to pay for major repairs every few weeks.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The Sterling<\/a> managed to conjure up some white-powder allure, despite its Honda ancestry, thanks to its interior that looked like the sort of leather-walled London private club in which Thatcher-era privatizers celebrated the wealth siphoned from the blood of the working classes.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The Jaguar XJ-S<\/a>? A fine choice indeed for hoovering a fat rail of Bolivian Marching Powder out of a $2,000-a-night call girl’s cleavage after closing a “dead horses for dead cows” deal<\/a> between a pair of doomed S&Ls!<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

Speaking of the looting of America’s S&Ls<\/a> during the 1980s, I was able to observe many of the participants’ cocainewagens in their natural habitat at that time: the streets around Lincoln Savings and Loan Association<\/a> and other dodgy Orange County S&Ls. This was from the vantage point of my 1968 Mercury Cyclone<\/a>, shown above in a 1985 Super-8 frame with me collapsed next to it in a Dark Angel<\/a> t-shirt.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

For the 1986 model year, the L7 was the most expensive BMW model sold in the United States. Its MSRP was $42,920, which comes to about $130,413 in 2026 dollars<\/a> (I paid about one percent of that price for my Cyclone, including the cost of the 351 Windsor swap).<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The L7 was at heart a U.S.\/Japan-only trim package for the 735i, which listed at $38,280 in 1986. It was available for just the 1985 through 1987 model years.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The white-glove-wearing back-seat L7 passenger in the BMW brochure seems appropriately jaded.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

A new 1986 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC cost $58,700, or about $178,360 after inflation<\/a>. However, the Benz was a lot stodgier.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

This car is well-worn but not completely trashed.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

It has a respectable final odometer reading for a 1980s BMW. With all my junkyard exploration, I’ve managed to document just a single BMW with better than 300,000 miles on the clock at the end ( a 1982 E23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The 7 Series has always been a rapid depreciator, and third and subsequent owners of these cars didn’t always keep up with required maintenance and repairs. It appears that this car was owned by a BMW enthusiast.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

In recent years, crackle-tuned Evos and WRXs in the Colorado Front Range area have been replaced by crackle-tuned BMW E46s and E90s trailing the same miasma of vape fumes and unburnt hydrocarbons. This car’s final owner had a message for those drivers.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The engine is a 3.5-liter SOHC straight-six rated at 182 horsepower and 214 lb-ft.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

L7 buyers for ’86 could choose between a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic<\/a> at the same cost. I have a hard time imagining an L7 buyer willing to work a clutch, but perhaps a few three-pedal versions were sold. For what it’s worth, I’ve documented exactly one junkyard E23 with a manual transmission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The 1986 L7 brochure describes the upholstery as being made from “natural hides,” which apparently meant they were sliced from water buffalo.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

This car’s interior has endured much punishment from the harsh sun of Front Range Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The dash top material has become crunchy.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

How many of these power-seat buttons still worked at the end (or in 1996, for that matter)?<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The Vienna State Opera Orchestra tape from 1983 seems 7er-appropriate. The band Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly<\/a> was at its peak of popularity soon after this car was sold.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

The Ultimate Driving Machine requires a cassette AUX adapter with Motor Trend<\/i> branding.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

\"junkyard<\/p>\n

1986 BMW L7 in Denver junkyard.<\/p>\n

Source: Autos \u2013 The Truth About Cars<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Out of all the ostentatious European machinery that became wealth-flaunting signifiers for newly rich Americans during the middle 1980s, which was the cocainiest ? I've found a discarded example of one of the strongest contenders for that title,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15121003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[219],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15121001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autos"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-300x352.jpg",300,352,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-620x728.jpg",620,728,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-720x665.jpg",720,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-670x446.jpg",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7.jpg",720,845,false],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-510x510.jpg",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15121001-junkyard-find-1986-bmw-l7-300x300.jpg",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"Autos<\/a>","tag_info":"Autos","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15121001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15121001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15121001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15121002,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15121001\/revisions\/15121002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15121003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15121001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15121001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15121001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}