New BMW 7 Series leaked online
Side profile of BMW’s next-gen limousine revealed ahead of September’s Frankfurt motor showA completely undisguised picture of the all-new, next-generation BMW 7 Series has surfaced on car website BimmerToday.
Posted online late last night, the single side profile shot shows off the more pronounced wedge shape, shorter boot and sloping bonnet of the big new German sedan, which is due to be revealed at this September’s Frankfurt motor show.
Combining more aluminium, high-strength steel and carbon-fibre construction methods learned from the i3 and i8 electric cars, BMW will slash 200kg from the current model's kerb weight.
Available in both long- and short-wheelbase models the body, meanwhile, will be constructed entirely from a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic.
The substantial weight-loss program will allow BMW to power the 7 Series with a four-cylinder engine for the first time, the base model's turbocharged petrol engine likely to generate at least 190kW. The same engine should be teamed with an electric motor to produce the first 'eDrive' 7 Series plug-in hybrid, offering about 220kW.
At the other end of the scale there's likely to be the first M-badged 7 Series, with the 2016 M750i expected to come with an upgraded version of the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 seen in the current 5, 6 and 7 Series, as well as the X5 and X6, but this time generating up to 450kW.
The next 7 Series will also come with a range of new diesel and petrol six-cylinder engines for the 2016 730d and 740i respectively, plus petrol V8 power for the new 750i and a powerful circa-450kW 6.6-litre V12 from Rolls-Royce for the new 760i luxury flagship. All of them will be direct-injected and turbocharged and matched with an eight-speed auto.
Plenty of pioneering new tech will also arrive with BMW’s flagship including Gesture Control and Remote Control Parking, which allows owners to 'drive' their 7 Series into and out of a parking space via the BMW Display Key.
The 7 Series will also come equipped with the i8’s state-of-the-art laser headlights.
BMW’s 7 Series goes on sale in Germany in late October, following its Frankfurt world debut, and in Australia in early 2016.
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