Is this a return to the Chris Bangle era who officiated a stylistic break during the 2000s at BMW? Never mind, this seventh generation of the 7 Series, a full-size sedan which plays the role of standard-bearer for the brand, will not be done without scratching the traditionalists of the formula. To support this avenue, it relies on an obvious partly electric strike force as well as an immense dose of technology.
Posted at 5:45 p.m.
First let’s look at the design, which still relies on the huge two-piece grille – now merged – which takes up a lot of space. The designers have chosen to reduce the visual footprint of the headlights and place them on the top of the front fenders, an element that is surprisingly reminiscent of the last generation of the Jeep Cherokee before it was redesigned. It is more consensual on the other points of view, while the sedan ensures its presence with a length of 5.3 m and gains on all measurement points ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters.
V8 or electric
Adopting a polarized approach under the hood to say the least, this 7 Series guarantees its grip with a biturbo V8 for the combustion engine version and as well as two electric motors for the electric variant which will be called i7. Regarding the V8, it has a displacement of 4.4 L and gains the light hybrid to reduce its gluttony. Its power is 536 hp, enough for a 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds when teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BMW
2023 BMW 760i xDrive with V8 engine
The i7 for its part gets exactly the same power from two electric motors, but its 0-100 km/h is slightly slower at 4.7s. This is inevitably attributable to the weight gain imposed by the 101.7 kWh battery which allows a range of 483 km.
Like in the cinema… or almost
Obviously, this 7 Series acts as a technological showcase for the BMW group. So we can see some impressive advances, including the addition of an optional 31.3-inch 8K definition rear screen for streaming movies and videos over a 5G network.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BMW
The optional huge 31.3-inch screen promises to transform the rear seats into a mobile “home theater”.
The iDrive multimedia interface makes the transition to a new generation with the integration of augmented reality functions on the instrument screen to support navigation, among other things, by superimposing the directions on an image captured from the front of the vehicle.
The first copies of this 2023 7 Series should arrive in Canada in the last quarter of the year. The starting price for both versions is set at $147,000, which exposes the very opulent look of the product.