Always more limo than sports sedan, the BMW 7-series
burnishes both sides of its personality with the all-new sixth
generation, which arrives this fall as a 2016 model. The new 7 slims
down thanks to a new platform that includes structural carbon-fiber
elements, while at the same time turning up the luxury quotient and the
techno wizardry.
It will take a sharp-eyed observer, however, to identify the new,
sixth-generation 7-series once the car starts gliding off dealer lots.
Dimensionally very close to its predecessor, the 7-series in its latest
iteration grows just over an inch in length, while its width and height
remain largely unchanged. Largely unchanged could also describe the
styling, which is at most a measured evolution.
The car’s shoulder-line
crease now continues forward through the headlamp cluster—with its
familiar LED eyebrow—and into the twin-kidney grille (which hides active
shutters to aid fuel economy), while in back it extends rearward into
the more complexly shaped taillamps. There’s also a new,
hockey-stick-shaped design element along the lower body sides. The net
effect is to take another baby step away from the leaden, dumpling-like
form language introduced with the Bangle-era 7-series of 2002.
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Carbon Core, Not Common Core
Beneath the conservative exterior, however, the new 7-series platform
contains some major changes. What BMW is calling its “Carbon Core”
structure (with a badge to that effect on the B-pillar) is in fact a mix
of carbon-reinforced plastic, aluminum, and high-strength steel.
The
carbon fiber is used in key areas such as the A-, B-, and C-pillars, the
windshield header, and the transmission tunnel. Molded-plastic front
fenders and an aluminum trunk and door skins shave additional weight.
The company says that as much as 190 pounds have been trimmed, with
unsprung mass down by 15 percent—the weight that remains is balanced
nearly equally among the front and rear tires.
In addition to trimming pounds, the new car also trims its model lineup.
Whereas the past few generations of the 7 have been offered in
standard- and long-wheelbase variants, BMW will bring the new car to our
market only in LWB form, following in the tracks of its top rival, the Mercedes-Benz S-class.
BMW is therefore ditching the “L” designation (although it will remain
on the cars sold in Europe, where SWB models also will be offered).
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Besides the elimination of the short-wheelbase variants, the model count
is being further trimmed to just two core variants: six-cylinder 740i
and V-8 750i. Although the 740i at launch this fall will be offered only
with rear-wheel drive, an all-wheel-drive xDrive version will follow
within a few months; conversely, the 750i will come first as an xDrive,
with a rear-drive sibling following shortly after.
Left at the curb are the twelve-cylinder 760, the ActiveHybrid 7, and
the Alpina B7 models. Although BMW isn’t saying, we expect the V-12 and
the Alpina B7 to reappear eventually. A diesel is also a possibility at
some point. A new plug-in will carry the hybrid banner.
The six and V-8 in the 740i and 750i are familiar. The six-cylinder is again a 3.0-liter turbo, although it is part of BMW’s new, modular engine family.
Output is 320 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque, which enables the
740i to sprint from zero to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, according to BMW. The
4.4-liter V-8 with two turbochargers spins out 445 horsepower and 480
lb-ft, cutting the zero-to-60 run to a factory-estimated 4.3 seconds. As
before, a ZF eight-speed automatic shuffles the gears for you.
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BMW has said that all its core model lines will offer a plug-in hybrid,
and so it will be for the 7-series. Arriving in 2016, the 740e xDrive
plug-in will combine a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, a lithium-ion
battery located under the rear seat, an electric motor, and an
eight-speed automatic. The maximum range on electricity alone is said to
be 23 miles, with zero-emissions driving possible at speeds up to 75
mph. The all-wheel-drive 740e will be sold in all 50 states.
The new chassis features standard air suspension front and rear, along
with electronically controlled dampers and optional active anti-roll
bars (now electromechanically rather than hydraulically actuated). The
driver can raise the ride height by 0.8 inch; it’s also automatically
lowered by 0.4 inch when the car reaches cruising speed in Sport mode.
Four-wheel steering (BMW’s Integral Active Steering) again is available,
only now it can be paired with both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel
drive. BMW claims it makes the long-wheelbase car as maneuverable as its
short-wheelbase sibling. A new predictive adaptive suspension—Road
Preview—that sounds very much like Mercedes-Benz’s Magic Body Control, uses cameras to scan the road surface ahead and adjust the adaptive suspension accordingly.
In our limited drive in a preproduction 7-series,
we found that the car’s lighter weight and revised chassis have given
the big Bimmer newfound verve. But showroom shoppers likely will be
wowed not by issues of dynamics but by the über-plush interior and the
dizzying array of electronics.
Source article:www.caranddriver.com/
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