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2016 BMW 7 Series Spied in M Sport Guise on the Nurburgring

The 2016 BMW 7 Series is currently being taken through its paces at the Nurburgring. What seems to be the fastest version around was caught by our spy photographers going all out on the famous track, showing that the Germans plan to stick to their DNA and bring out a limousine that can also be driven hard.
2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots 25 photos
Photo: SB Medien
2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots2016 BMW 7 Series in M Sport Guise spyshots
That’s what used to set Bimmers apart in the industry. They offered both a premium package but also a sportier feeling behind the wheel, making them rather unique in their own boundaries set up by pricing schemes. As time went by, its rivals started focusing more on luxury and they had to keep up, unfortunately leaving behind the other side of the medal.

With recent models, things started turning around, the most recent example being the new M4 that is basically taking things back to their roots. It’s an extremely agile car with plenty of power going to the rear wheels and an incredibly well balanced chassis.

It seems like they are trying their best to upgrade and keep things interesting in the new 7 Series as well. Even though we’re talking wildly different sizes here, the 7er could outperform its rivals on the track. Its direct rivals that is!

Unfortunately, BMW said that there won’t be an M7 version coming out too soon so we’re guessing that the most capable track beast will still be the 750i M Sport as it has the best power/weight ratio. Sure, there’s the 760Li model too but that 6-liter V12 hangs too heavy overall.

The prototype our spy photographers caught testing, featured some wider exhaust tips at the back, each of them with two tailpipes hiding beneath. That points out to either a twin-turbo V8 or the next level engine, the V12. Judging by the sound, our carparazzi team suggested the former is the more likely architecture.

Cutting down weight by the hundreds of kilos

Power isn’t everything, especially when it comes to going fast around the track. That’s something BMW knows and according to our source inside Munich, they plan to cut the weight of the new 7 Series by up to 170 kilos (375 lbs) in between similarly equipped models. That’s a lot!

At the moment, the current 7er tips the scale at over 2 tons, going up as the engine grows in size. With such a weight reduction, it would go down towards the 1.8-ton margin which would, in turn, help reduce emissions, fuel consumption and so on, not to mention improve the driving characteristics.

Being built atop the new CLAR (Cluster Architecture) platform, the new G-series models should be featuring a lot of aluminum and CFRP in all possible areas, including place never-thought possible before. That and the plethora of new technology should make this an interesting rival for the S-Class and the Audi A8 range.

As far as performance models go, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope they will release at least an M Performance model if not an all out M7 to rival the likes of the Audi S8 and S63 AMG. Either way, we’re going to know for sure this autumn, at Frankfurt, where the Germans are set to take the veils off the production version.
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