BMW 7 Series and i7 as secret prototypes: This is what luxury from Bavaria will look like in the future

Created: 12/17/2021, 09:17 AM

From: Marcus Efler

It still takes a little while to start series production.

The prototypes of BMW's future, also electric luxury class are currently being tested.

Munich - The new BMW 7 Series is set to celebrate its world premiere as early as next spring, and then it will be available to customers in 2022.

Shortly after its market launch next autumn as a combustion version, the luxury sedan will also be available as a purely electric version under the name i7, as reported by 24auto.de - a novelty among the classic large sedans of the southern German premium brands.

At the beginning there will be the upcoming 7-series as before with different six- and eight-cylinder engines.

Four-cylinder only get a chance as a basic variant for China, while the image-boosting V12 is reserved for the luxury subsidiary Rolls-Royce (until it is fully electrified).

(BMW boss Oliver Zipse: Cars out of these inner cities)

BMW 7 Series and i7 as secret prototypes: This is what luxury from Bavaria will look like in the future

Although the current eight-cylinder with its 530 hp in connection with the well-known ZF eight-speed automatic transmission is currently considered the measure of drive things in the luxury segment, there should be a completely newly developed V8 with supercharging in the medium term - for the first time probably also as a power hybrid called the BMW M7, which (just like in the new luxury SUV BMW XM) could produce more than 700 hp and thus chase the new Mercedes-AMG EQS 53.

Cold testing: the next BMW 7 series somewhere in northern Sweden © Uwe Fischer / BMW

The electric range of the various plug-in hybrids with six and eight cylinders with at least 250 hp will be more than 100 kilometers.

Most of the variants of the new 7 Series, including the electric i7, will have all-wheel drive as standard.

The different i7 versions then offer the level of autonomy 3 as in the Mercedes EQS, as well as outputs between 350 and also over 700 hp.

The most powerful variant of the new 7 series could therefore be an electric model that is hunting models like Lucid, Nio and Co. (Lucid with range record: New electric car shocks Tesla and Mercedes)

BMW 7 Series and i7 as secret prototypes: Extreme heat and cold torture the electric drive

The prototype testing of the upcoming top model is currently in full swing all over the world. There are just as many vehicles on the road in Europe as there are in North America and Asia. In hot country tests on test tracks and public roads around the world, the development engineers primarily verify the performance and reliability of the electric motors, the all-wheel drive and the high-voltage battery - at maximum load from high temperatures, unpaved roads, dust and large differences in altitude. The way to series production leads the prototypes of the BMW i7, among other things, over cracked gravel roads and into scorching desert areas, into the mountains and on selected highly dynamic routes. (BMW shows new emblem - you can get it on these models)

BMW 7 Series and i7 as secret prototypes: Stromer technology from the iX

In addition, the winter that has just begun enables the finishing touches in the equally torturous cold country trials.

Here, too, the focus is on the components of the electric drive system.

The electric motor, high-voltage battery, power electronics and charging technology of the BMW i7 come from the fifth generation of BMW electrical technology, which is already installed in the BMW iX.

At extremely sub-zero temperatures in northern Sweden, the electric drive must show that it is a sustainable concept in all regions of the world.