We’ve already seen spy shots of early
mules with the new 7 Series being tested with conventional and fully electric
powertrains, and now BMW is finally ready to talk a bit about its revamped
flagship. During the Annual Accounts Press Conference 2020, Oliver Zipse,
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, formally announced plans to
offer the next-generation 7 Series as a pure electric model.
He went on to mention the completely
silent version of the fullsize luxury sedan will be offered alongside conventionally
powered models running on gasoline and diesel. In addition, the Audi A8 and
Mercedes S-Class rival will also be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain
as a follow up to today’s 745Le.
While plans for a zero-emissions 7 Series
aren’t all that surprising given the test mules carrying “electric test
vehicle” stickers, Oliver Zipse made another interesting reveal. He announced
the most powerful version of the next-gen car will actually be the EV. As to
whether it will be called “i7” since that would make the most sense, it remains
to be seen.
He didn’t go into any details about how
much power it will offer, but he did mention all four types of powertrains will
be based on a single architecture. The most powerful 7 Series on sale today is
the US$ 157,700 M760i with a twin-turbo 6.6-liter V12 producing 601 horsepower. We
wouldn’t get our hopes up too high about the next 7er getting the powerhouse as
BMW recently said it’s costly to update the twelve-cylinder mill to make it
meet more stringent emissions, especially since demand is not exactly strong to
justify the financial effort.
With our spies catching on camera only
test mules, it means an official reveal of the new 7 Series won’t happen
anytime soon. Chances are BMW plans to unveil its new range topper sometime in
2022 and the model could arrive in the United States as a 2023MY.
