BMW’s next M Performance X7 SUV has been caught on test at the Nurburgring. The flagship SUV keeps V8 power while gaining BMW’s latest cabin technology. An electric iX7 is coming too, plus an Alpina flagship for really wealthy buyers. BMW might be pushing hard into its Neue Klasse era, but its biggest SUV isn’t throwing everything familiar in the bin. Fresh spy shots show the next X7 pounding around the Nurburgring in M Performance tune, complete with four very visible, very rumbly exhaust pipes confirming V8 power will survive for a few more years yet. Related: iX5 Too Small? BMW’s iX7 Electric Flagship Should Fit The Bill Unlike the dramatically transformed new X5, the X7’s exterior makeover looks relatively restrained. Think more along the lines of BMW’s latest 7-Series update, with the existing proportions and split-headlight theme evolving rather than being replaced by the cleaner Neue Klasse face. SH Proshots The kidney grilles will remain oversized, with illumination an option, but if the latest 7-Series is any guide, the grille bars will run horizontally, not vertically, to emphasize the SUV’s width. And even if it doesn’t go full Neue Klasse, there are some new-era BMW touches hiding beneath the camouflage. The prototype appears set to adopt the little wing-like door releases seen on the latest X5 instead of conventional handles. The two rear light clusters will also stretch right across the rear lift gate until they’re almost touching, just like on an X3 or X5. Panoramic iDrive Inside, the transformation should be much more dramatic, with BMW’s Panoramic iDrive spreading information across the base of the windshield. The new interior tech setup debuted on the iX3 last fall, but is now being rolled out across BMW’s lineup. The pillar-to-pillar gauge cluster is backed by a tablet touchscreen and separate head-up display. This particular prototype grabbed our attention because its quad exhausts point toward a successor to today’s M60i, which could get an M70 badge. The current SUV uses a mild-hybrid 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 523 hp (530 PS), and the next model is expected to stick with eight-cylinders and push towards, or maybe even beyond, 600 hp (608 PS). Lower-ranking X7s will get mild-hybrid six-piston power with up to 395 hp (400 PS) based on current X5 specs, and a first-ever PHEV derivative is even a possibility. As a point of reference, the top X5 plug-in makes 483 hp (490 PS). Alpina Goes Beyond X7 SH Proshots The M70 won’t necessarily be king of the X7 hill either. Alpina – now fully in BMW’s control – is expected to produce another XB7, giving buyers who consider an ordinary V8-powered, three-row BMW insufficiently extravagant somewhere else to deposit a large pile of money. That could mean the end of the road for the controversial XM. And if burning gasoline feels too dated a concept for you, BMW has that scenario covered, too. The X7 will be joined by the first electric iX7, which we’ve already caught testing. Both combustion and electric versions will share an evolution of BMW’s CLAR architecture, as the new X5 does, rather than splitting onto completely different platforms like the electric and combustion versions of the i3 and 3-series. SH Proshots
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