2015 BMW seven Series exposed – pictures, on-sale date and engine information
The two thousand fifteen BMW seven Series has renewed the brand’s brunt on the luxury class.
Set to go on sale in the UK on twenty four October, the upmarket saloon has been comprehensively re-engineered in a stir that sees it shed up to 130kg over its predecessor through the adoption of a fresh hybrid construction process that uses varying forms of carbonfibre in load-bearing areas of its assets structure.
Further developments include freshly developed in-line six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and a plug-in hybrid model with an electrified range of up to twenty five miles. The seven Series also gets a powerfully reworked chassis that combines four-wheel steering with four-wheel drive for the very first time, a remote parking system that permits you to step out of the car before it parks itself and a series of fresh iDrive control functions, including both touch and gesture controls that permit the driver to supply directions with a wave of the arm.
The fresh seven Series, codenamed G11 (brief wheelbase) and G12 (long wheelbase), maintains the visual identity of the previous-generation model. The traditional three-box silhouette is retained, albeit with a slightly more raked rear window and a more strongly sloping boot lid that serve to provide it with a sleeker profile.
Among the detail switches are a more prominent kidney grille with flaps that open to increase airflow to the engine bay when required, larger LED headlights (with optional laser high planks from the i8), a more strongly structured front bumper with integral LED foglights and a more strenuously contoured bonnet.
Along the flanks there is now a more pronounced shoulder, a taller glasshouse and a chrome highlight that runs from the air breather behind the front wheel arches and along the lower edges of the doors. The rear is distinguished by a high-set boot, traditional L-shaped tail-lights joined by a chrome undress and tail pipes set within the rear valance panel.
BMW has also developed four different styling packages for the fresh car: standard, M Sport, Unspoiled Excellence and Individual.
At 5098mm in length, 1902mm in width and 1478mm in height, the fresh seven Series is 19mm longer and 7mm higher than its predecessor in standard wheelbase guise, albeit it is the same width as before. The long-wheelbase variant gains an added 139mm in length, making it 18mm longer than the car it substitutes, at 5238mm.
Both the standard and long-wheelbase variants share the same wheelbase measurements as the old seven Series models, at 3070mm and 3210mm respectively. The front track has enhanced by 7mm in width at 1618mm, while the rear track is diminished by 4mm at 1646mm.
As with the exterior, the interior receives an evolutionary design update with a freshly designed dashboard, controls and trims. Among the highlights are fresh digital instrument graphics that light up in either white, blue or crimson depending on the driving mode, a redesigned multi-function steering wheel and fresh front seats with ventilation and rubdown functions.
A long list of interior options includes items such as a fever convenience package which not only includes the seats and steering wheel but also the armrests in the doors, centre console and rear centre armrest. There is also a high-end Bowers and Wilkins surround-sound system, night vision, a glass roof that can be switched inbetween six colours, inductive mobile phone charging and a head-up display featuring a 75% larger screen than before.
The big news is the appearance of a fifth-generation iDrive system. The significantly reworked set-up introduces fresh touchpad and touchscreen functions as part of an optional Navigation System Professional, permitting you to operate the various functions in a similar style to that of a wise phone with familiar pinch, point and swipe instructions, or alternatively in a traditional manner via an updated rotary dial mounted on the car’s broad centre console.
There’s also optional gesture control for the very first time. It uses a three-dimensional sensor mounted within the headlining to detect mitt movements that are used to control functions including the volume of the audio system as well as the acceptance or rejection of calls. The fresh system detects five different gestures, including pin, point, rotate, swipe and a two-finger guideline.
BMW’s fresh seven Series will be launched with the choice of just two engines in the UK, both mated to a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox that uses a longer final drive ratio and a shift strategy that operates in conjunction with the satellite navigation system. Buyers can choose a Steptronic variant of the ZF-produced gearbox with shift paddles on the steering wheel as an option. It uses its own unique software mapping for sportier shifts and an integral launch control function.
The expected volume seller in the UK is the 730d, which receives BMW’s fresh B57 engine. The turbocharged Three.0-litre six-cylinder unit uses a fresh injector system that operates at 2500bar. It develops 7bhp and 45lb ft more than the N57-designated engine it substitutes, with 261bhp and 457lb ft.
This is sufficient to provide the only diesel-powered model in the initial line-up with a 0-62mph time of Five.8sec and a 155mph top speed. BMW claims that it also brings an epic 12.4mpg improvement in fuel consumption, at 62.8mpg, and a 29g/km reduction in CO2 emissions, at 119g/km.
The petrol engine is a fresh turbocharged Three.0-litre in line six-cylinder, the B58, which powers the 740Li. With 321bhp and 332lb ft, it produces 6bhp and the same torque as the older N55 unit, endowing it with a 0-62mph time of Five.5sec and 155mph top speed along with combined fuel consumption of 42.8mpg and 154g/km of CO2.
In the very first half of 2016, BMW will also provide the seven Series with a plug-in hybrid petrol-electric system in a fresh 740e model. Already employed in the X5 xDrive40e, it uses BMW’s fresh B48 turbocharged Two.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electrical motor mounted within the gearbox to provide a combined output of 321bhp, 0-62mph in Five.6sec and a 149mph top speed in hybrid mode.
In electrified mode, it is claimed to provide a zero-emission range of up to twenty five miles at speeds of up to 75mph. The fresh 740e is rated at 134.5mpg, with average CO2 emissions of just 49g/km.
The twin-turbocharged Four.4-litre V8 petrol unit will show up next year in the 750i Xdrive. The 90deg engine supplies 444bhp but, through a series of upgrades that include fresh twin-scroll turbochargers and a higher Ten.Five:1 compression ratio, it now provides an added 37lb ft of torque at 479lb ft. This gives the range-topping seven Series a 0-62mph time of Four.4sec, a 155mph top speed, combined fuel consumption of 34.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 189g/km. A twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 twin turbo is also set to join the seven Series range later in its life. The V8 and the V12 are also set to be used by Rolls-Royce.
To further boost the model’s presence in the luxury spectacle market, BMW is looking at creating a fresh M7 or M750i M Spectacle version, likely to receive a strenuously tuned version of the M5’s twin-turbo Four.4-litre V8 producing more than 600bhp.
All engines come as standard with an enhanced Drive Practice Control function, permitting the driver to choose inbetween Convenience, Sport, Eco-Pro and a fresh adaptive mode that monitors your driving and automatically adjusts the car to suit. As in other latest fresh BMWs, the brake energy regeneration and automatic start-stop systems are complemented by a fuel-saving coasting function which decouples the engine on a periods of trailing throttle at speeds inbetween thirty one and 100mph.
All versions come with rear-wheel drive as standard. However, the optional four-wheel drive adds 70kg to the kerb weight.
The fresh seven Series rails on a strenuously reworked suspension system. It adopts air springs front and rear, rather than just at the rear as previously, providing permanently variable damping control, automatic self-levelling and the capability to alter the nominal 135mm rail height on the go. The driver can raise ground clearance by 20mm at the press of a button at speeds below 22mph, while in Sport mode the rail height is automatically diminished by 10mm at certain speeds for improved aerodynamic efficiency.
The fresh car also comes with optional electro-hydraulically operated roll bars as part of the Executive Drive Pro function on all but the 740i and 740e. They substitute the previous hydraulically operated roll bars, bringing what BMW describes as swifter damper reaction times for improved rail convenience, a more progressive build-up of lean and diminished levels of bod roll.
As part of BMW’s weight-saving efforts, the wheel carriers, brake caliper housings, brake disc carriers and rear transverse suspension arms are all made of aluminium. Altogether some 40kg has been saved over the old seven Series, bringing an extraordinaire 10kg reduction in un-sprung mass at each corner. BMW also claims a ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, while the efforts to trim weight within the assets structure have also diminished the centre of gravity.
Allied to the fresh suspension is a fresh electro-mechanical steering system. The fresh seven Series also offers an optional rear-wheel steer function on both rear and four-wheel-drive models. It provides up to 3deg of countersteer for added manoeuvrability around town, or alternatively 2deg of parallel steer for greater agility on the open road.
In what BMW is billing as a world very first, the fresh seven Series is capable of parking itself without the need for a driver to be behind the steering wheel. The so-called Remote Control Parking function uses a stereo camera mounted within the windscreen and radar sensors to permit forwards and switch sides parking manoeuvres at the press of a button on the fresh digital key fob.
The seven Series will cost from £64,530 in the UK for the 730d in short-wheelbase form and in standard trim. The petrol range starts at £72,060. Upgrading to M Sport trim puts £3650 onto the price, while long-wheelbase models add £3950 and xDrive models are £2730 more expensive.
Among the key rivals for BMW’s seven Series will be the fresh Audi A8, which has also been spotted testing, and the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
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