FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: BMW presents Concept X7 iPerformance

It might have leaked online two days ago, but BMW maintains its Concept X7 iPerformance will still be one of the surprises of next week’s Frankfurt motor show.

While it is light on details, the gigantic three-row lucury SUV is expected to sit at least half a metre longer than the existing X5 large SUV and is slated for production late next year – therefore it’s unlikely to reach Australia until 2019.

The Concept X7 iPerformance introduces both enormous size to a brand that was once known as svelte and athletic, and a new design language for all of BMW’s future SUVs.

With three rows of two seats, the six-seat Concept X7 iPerformance will head to production with a seven-seat option -- courtesy of a three-seat middle row -- when it’s built at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in the US next year.

It earns its iPerformance badge, which BMW has previously reserved for its electrified cars like the i3 and i8, by using its new eDrive hybrid technology, combined with a turbocharged petrol-powered inline six-cylinder engine.

The plug-in hybrid will be able to run as a zero-emission car for at least 50 real-world kilometres to give it the ability to be sold in markets like China (which demand a minimum of 50km).

It’s going to be the first in a rollout of 25 electrified new models, along with 12 full battery-electric BMWs, by 2025 as part of its Number One > Next strategy.

Some of the new EVs will have a range of 700km, including a new four-door electric sedan concept that will be uncovered in Frankfurt on Tuesday and should be on sale by 2021.

BMW won’t confirm its name, but it’s believed to fill the space in the i brand that would be naturally filled by an i5.

BMW has also confirmed that both Rolls-Royce and M will be electrified, with MINI scoring a big share of the new models, with the the MINI EV at Frankfurt heading for production in 2019.

The first core-brand BMW to go full EV will be the X3 in 2020, but after that all full EV BMWs will come from the i brand.

Like most upcoming BMWs, the Concept X7 iPerformance will be electrified, with a contingency to turn fully electric if the market accelerates that way.

But the Concept X7 iPerformance’s powertrain is likely to draw fewer headlines than its new visuals, which are dominated by the most brutally, obnoxiously huge kidney grilles ever to get stuck onto a BMW and a vertical tailgate that is a massive step-change from the X5.

“Since BMW founded the Sports Activity Vehicle segment with the first X5 back in 1999, every subsequent X vehicle has broken new ground,” BMW’s board member for sales and marketing, Ian Robertson, insisted.

“The BMW X7 continues this tradition: the X family’s new top model extends BMW’s offering in the luxury class and redefines the concept of luxury for the BMW brand and beyond.

“It also embodies one of the most important elements of our corporate strategy Number One > Next, to grow our presence in the luxury class.

“Furthermore, the BMW Concept X7 demonstrates it’s perfectly possible to combine a large sports activity vehicle with an electrified drivetrain.”

It is a second step, after the 8 Series concept, in moving BMW from a premium brand to a luxury one, even if the interior looks severely sparse compared to the existing 750i limousine.

“The Concept introduces the BMW Sports Activity Vehicle DNA into the luxury segment,” BMW’s senior vice-president for design, Adrian van Hooydonk said.

“The new BMW design language employs just a few, extremely precise lines and subtle surface work to raise the bar in terms of presence and prestige.

“The BMW Concept X7 iPerformance has a luxurious and sophisticated feel to it, thanks to its understated use of forms and incredibly precise details.”

Van Hooydonk admitted the sheer size of the Concept X7 iPerformance delivered an interior experience unlike anything else ever felt by a BMW owner.