Electric i7 M70 to top the all-new 7 Series range as one of the most powerful BMW cars ever
Taking the covers off the new-generation 2022 BMW 7 Series today, the German luxury car-maker has confirmed the flagship full-electric BMW i7 M70 xDrive will be one of the most powerful series-production cars ever produced under the spinning propeller badge.
While the heaviest-hitting, circa-450kW M70 will arrive in Australia late in 2023, the seventh-generation 2022 BMW 7 Series range will launch Down Under in October this year, headed by the electric i7 xDrive60 that offers 400kW of power and 745Nm of torque, all tied together with a 625km driving range.
The lithium-ion battery pack carries a useable 101.7kWh of energy and can charge at 195kW from a DC unit, giving it a claimed 170km of range in just 10 minutes.
And the pair of i7s will, for the first time in BMW’s history, share their bodies and badges with the rest of the all-new 7 Series range, including six-cylinder petrol and diesel, V8 petrol and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants.
Both the combustion and electric versions of the 7 Series will mark a step up in luxury from previous 7 Series models, with BMW getting more serious than ever about the chauffer-driven limousine market.
The short-wheelbase version has gone for now, with BMW preferring to stick with the extra rear legroom of the long-wheelbase layout as standard, stretching the 7 Series out to an enormous 5391mm overall, or 175mm longer than the stretched version of the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
It rides on a gigantic 3215mm wheelbase, which is just 1mm shy of the stretched S-Class’ wheelbase, and it’s taller and wider than its key rival.
Both the combustion-powered 7 Series and the i7 models look identical, with the exceptions of a blue ring around the BMW logo and some removable blue trim on the i7.
Even the majority of the combustion-powered 7 Series variants have hidden tailpipes to match the EVs.
Inside story
All new BMW 7 Series offerings will be sold in both Sport and Luxury model grades with four or 4+1 seating arrangements, and BMW expects half of all the 7 Series cars it builds in Germany to be sold in China, with the rest of Asia soaking up another 20 per cent.
The new 7 differentiates itself from the 5 Series and the rest of the BMW range with an illuminated grille, split headlights (which can run Swarovski crystals for added poshness) and can come with Matrix LEDs or long-range laser lights.
There will also be Level 3, hands-off driver assistance for all models, but that won’t be delivered at the initial stages. BMW expects it to take a year, at minimum, for due diligence before the car-maker and its reinsurance companies take over full legal liability for crashes while the cars are driving themselves.
The Level 3 system will initially be only used at up to 60km/h, but BMW insists Chinese drivers using the system average 28km/h for more than 80 per cent of their driving journeys.
While past 7 Series have tried to echo the sportiness of the rest of the BMW range, the new version has gone its own stylistic way, tying instead into the X7 to create a mini family of luxury-designed models at the top of the BMW tree.
That means the 7 Series is much taller than before, gaining 51mm in overall height – and the difference in its bonnet line is even more pronounced than that. The new sedan is also 48mm wider.
The luxury begins in the front, but really steps up a gear in the back, where BMW offers the 7 Series with an enormous 31-inch theatre screen with a 32:9 panorama format that rolls down from the roof and blocks the rear-vision mirror completely.
But the Theatre Mode does more than that, including dimming all the windows with draw-down screens, reclining the optional comfort seats and even sliding the front passenger seat forward to provide extra legroom.
There’s a 5G antenna to catch the live-streaming and Amazon Fire for the theatre, while the motors for the two rail-to-rail roof glass covers have been tucked away at either end of the roof to give more clear glass space.
The 7 Series brings back cloth seats into the luxury fray, too, with cashmere wool as the go-to seat trim, protected from stains, though there are vegan and leather alternatives.
The 7 Series runs an optional Bowers and Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound set-up with a gob-smacking 36 speakers in the cabin and a 1965-Watt amplifier, and none of it compromises the 540-litre luggage space (which drops to 525 litres for the plug-in hybrids and 500L for the i7).
The driver scores a 12.3-inch digital display, while there is also a 14.9-inch multimedia screen, and they’re both connected beneath a single curved glass screen.
On the downside, even the i7 runs a sizeable transmission tunnel as the price customers pay to have it built on a combustion-powered platform, and it’s so wide and high that it makes sense to order the four-seat option for the EV.
The standard footprint for the enormous new 7 Series is a quad set of 19-inch alloy wheels, though 20- and 21-inch wheels and tyres are optional.
The i7 we pored over ran on HL (heavy load, or 850kg per tyre) 285/35R21 and 255/40R21 Bridgestone tyres and aero alloy wheels to eke out more EV range.
They all use air suspension systems on both axles, along with active ride and active roll stabilisation.
Despite the belated dive into the deepest end of the luxury pool, BMW insists the 7 Series will still be able to out-handle its competitors with or without the Sports mode activated.
7 Series powertrains
The new BMW 7 Series will launch in Europe with a 40d turbo-diesel engine as the entry point, delivering 220kW of power and 670Nm of torque to slip from 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds.
It’s also the most frugal of the non-hybrid 7 Series models, boasting an impressive WLTP economy figure of as little as 5.9L/100km.
There will be a 735i six-cylinder as the entry point for most Asian markets, with 210kW/425Nm from the petrol engine and a respectable 6.7sec sprint to 100km/h.
The 740i, which is set for more widespread distribution, takes the same basic six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol engine and pushes it to 280kW/520Nm, reaching 100km/h in 5.4sec while using between 7.0 and 8.0L/100km.
The big boy of the combustion-powered family will be the 760i xDrive, with a 400kW/700Nm twin-turbo V8 engine up front, capable of hurling the doubtlessly hefty beast to 100km/h in 4.2sec.
It is, though, thirsty; so much so that it takes the 740i’s WLTP minimum claim of 7.0L/100km and adds 4.2 litres to each 100km, with a commensurate rise in CO2 emissions from 159g/km to 255.
All of the combustion-powered 7 Series models will supplement their organic urge with a 48V mild-hybrid system and an integrated starter-generator system, complete with 9kW of power and 200Nm of torque.
The 7 Series will offer plug-in hybrids with at least 80km of WLTP-tested EV range, but they won’t be in showrooms until at least the second quarter of 2023.
The two-tier PHEV sub-family will have a 750e and a 760e, each with an electric motor and a small but significant lithium-ion battery pack supplementing their inline six-cylinder petrol engine.
The 750e takes its 230kW/450Nm petrol engine – unique in the 7 Series family – and adds 145kW and 280Nm from the electric motor.
BMW claims the electric motor’s efficiency is between 24.5 and 26.9kWh/100km, and while that’s not great compared to an EV, it should be remembered that it’s also lugging around six holes in a big block of metal.
The stronger 760e has the same 145kW/280Nm electric motor mated to the stronger 280kW/520kW version of the inline-six petrol engine from the 740i.
Due to reach European showrooms later next year, the flagship i7 M70 xDrive will boast 1000Nm of torque and more than 600 horsepower, and will be capable of 600km of EV range.
That power figure of 441kW-plus is claimed by the car-maker to be the most powerful BMW-branded car, but unless the ‘plus’ turns out to be more than 635PS (hp DIN), the i7 M70 will have to defer to the 467kW twin-turbo V8-powered BMW M5 CS for bragging rights.
The 750e has a claimed EV range of 80-89km (depending on specifications and weight), while the 760e is good for 80-84km, and both cars will run up to 140km/h in their EV modes.
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Keyword: New BMW i7 and 7 Series revealed