Earlier this month BMW held an event in Portugal where the new 7 Series was introduced to members of the press ahead of its official unveiling. With this occasion, their official photographers also took hundreds of photos of the new car in various guises.
The most attractive model, by far, in our opinion, was the 740Le, a first for the brand compared to all the other cars on display. That’s because it uses a 2-liter petrol engine for the first time on the limousine. Yes, it is mated to an electric motor as well but the principle remains the same nonetheless.
Since we began talking about technical details, let’s go a little deeper. The plug-in hybrid (yet another first for the 7er) has a combined power output of 326 HP made up of 258 HP from the internal combustion engine and 113 HP from the electric motor.
The two are synchronous and together they help the car reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.7 seconds which is more than impressive for a car that is 17-foot long. If you go for the xDrive version, the spring goes down to 5.5 seconds.
Traveling in pure EV mode is doable for up to 40 km (25 miles) according to the European tests but we’re expecting EPA to post some more realistic numbers shortly. As for the top speed attainable without starting the ICE under the bonnet, that would be 75 mph (120 km/h) which is rather respectable.
Switching between driving modes is done using buttons located near the steering wheel as you can see in the video posted below. Speaking of which, we also included a clip of the interior which is on a new level compared to the outgoing model.
Gesture control, new materials, the new iDrive system with touch screen and other various new functions will definitely make the new 7 Series an attractive offer. The question is: will it be able to take on the S-Class?
Google News