BMW will swiftly expand its new G70 7-Series range with the addition of two M-badged EV and PHEV options as soon as 2023. The first U.S. customers buying cars for delivery in winter 2022 have the choice of a six-cylinder, rear-wheel drive 740i, a V8-powered, all-wheel drive 760i xDrive, and the first ever fully electric 7-Series, the i7 xDrive60.
M760e xDrive and 750e xDrive
Those cars can be dressed up in M Sport
kit, but in 2023, BMW will add two genuine M-badged cars to the 7-Series
lineup. The first is the M760e xDrive, a plug-in hybrid launching in spring
2023 that combines a 3.0-litre inline six developing 375 hp and 520 Nm with a 197 hp electric motor for a total system output of 563
hp and 800 Nm.
BMW says it can hit 97 km/h in
4.3 seconds and 250 km/h in hybrid mode, though perhaps even more
relevant is its ability to travel up to 140 km/h in electric model and
cover 80-84 km between charges.
The M760e lands around the same time as
another 7-Series PHEV, this one not wearing an M badge. The 750e xDrive also
runs a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six and the same 197 hp electric
motor, but the gas engine is downgraded to 306 hp and 450
Nm, capping the overall output at 483 hp in temporary boosted mode,
and 700 Nm of torque. It has a fractionally longer 80-89 km electric range than its M-branded sister, but requires 4.9 second to
reach 100 km/h.
i7 M70 xDrive
Coming later in 2023 is the all-electric
i7 M70 xDrive. The i7 xDrive60 already announced this week divides 536 hp across both axles, but the M70 pushes that to “over” 600 PS and
promises “more than” 1,000 Nm of torque. That latter figure
compares with 745 Nm for the stock i7. BMW says it’s the torquiest
road car the company has ever made and can reach 100 km/h in 4.0
seconds, which represents a drop of 0.5 seconds versus the non-M car.
Although common sense says the i7 M70 is a
dead cert for the U.S., and at least one of the PHEVs will make its way to
North America, BMW has yet to confirm American availability for any of them. If
they are coming, don’t expect them before the second half of 2023.