BMW i7 revealed, luxury electric limousine headed to Australia
BMW will add the luxurious i7 limousine to its Australian electric vehicle line-up in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Virtually indistinguishable from the new-generation ICE 7-Series that launches at the same time, the i7 xDrive 60 will come to Australia boasting 400kW/765Nm outputs from dual e-motors.
Fuelling the i7 xDrive60 will be a lithium-ion battery pack with 101.7kWh of useable energy that can be charged at up to 195kW using DC electricity. Claimed WLTP range is up to 625km.
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BMW claims the i7 xDrive60 achieves the standard sprint in 4.7 seconds.
If all that spec reads vaguely familiar to you, then go and check out our road test of the BMW iX xDrive 50 Sport. It uses a fundamentally similar set-up.
BMW has yet to reveal pricing for the i7 or the orthodox 740i, which will be powered by a turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder engine assisted by 48V mild-hybrid technology. While the limo market is set to fast adopt EV drivetrains, BMW is planning ICE versions for the medium term.
Plug-in hybrid versions of the new 7-Series – including the first BMW M six-cylinder PHEV – are launching in 2023 along with a more powerful 450kW/1000Nm i7 M70 xDrive. Australian sale is yet to be confirmed.
The i7 will be a direct rival for the Mercedes-Benz EQS battery electric saloon that’s due on-sale in Australia soon.
Teased repeatedly ahead of its launch, the i7 is the latest in a flurry of EVs from BMW. The iX3, iX and i4 are all already on-sale in Australia and the new China-only i3 has also been launched.
Battery electric versions of the X1 small SUV and 5 Series sedan are due to launch by mid-2023.
The new 7-Series is the seventh generation of BMW’s flagship luxury car and is claimed to be the most opulent yet. Swarovski crystals can even be fitted to the split headlights.
Available for now only in long wheelbase, it measures up at a whopping 5391mm long and rides on a stretched 3215mm wheelbase. All up, it’s 130mm longer, 51mm taller and 48mm wider than its predecessor.
Half of all sales will be accounted for in China, where chauffer-driven travel is popular. An enormous new 31-inch stheatre touchcreen that rolls down from the roof will only encourage that. There are no less than 36 speakers in the cabin and 1965-watt amplifier.
Externally, the i7 is differentiated from the ICE models by blue rings around the BMW logo and some removeable blue trim. It also has slightly less luggage capacity – 500 litres versus 540.
Inside, the i7 cops the ICE versions transmission tunnel because they are built on a shared platform.
The 7-Series will come with Level 3 hands-off autonomous driving capability, matching the EQS and the ICE Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However, it will initially only operate at speeds up to 60km/h.
