BMW’s announces new electric 7 series luxury sedan
BMW announced a new electric 7 series luxury sedan, the i7 xDrive60. The upcoming EV will have an estimated range of “up to 300 miles” and a starting price of $120,295. Interested car buyers can pre-order the i7 starting today and deliveries are expected to start later this year.
Chock full of high-tech features, like a massive 8K theater screen for rear passengers, BMW is hoping the i7 will become a segment leader in the increasingly crowded luxury electric sedan space. Certainly the automaker’s 7 series has long held the place as the brand’s ultimate expression of luxury (alongside the 8 series). And BMW recently nipped the crown for best-selling luxury brand in the US from Mercedes-Benz, but Tesla is right on its heels.
The i7 can’t beat Tesla in battery performance and range, but it can certainly compete in performance. Featuring two electric motors with a combined output of 536 horsepower and 549 pound-feet of torque, the i7 xDrive60 will sprint from 0–60mph in about 4.5 seconds.
The vehicle’s battery provides 101.7kWh of usable energy, but the combined power consumption will be 19.7–18.9kWh per 100km, which is lower than previously advertised. By way of comparison, the most powerful Tesla, the long-range Model S, has a 100kWh battery, while Mercedes-Benz’s flagship EQS sedan, with 350 miles of range, has one with 107.8kWh of capacity.
Notably, BMW says it won’t use rare earth materials to power the i7’s two motors. Instead, the motors operate on the principle of a “current-energized synchronous machine,” which, according to BMW, allows “the precisely metered supply of electrical energy” to trigger “the excitation of the rotor.”
Most electric motors are powered by permanent magnets — sometimes no larger than a pack of playing cards — made of rare earth metals. The magnets enable the motors to transform electricity into motion, thus powering the vehicle. These rare earth magnets, mostly made of neodymium (NdFeB), are almost entirely mined and processed in China.
By using current-energized synchronous machine principles, BMW says it can achieve a higher energy density, especially in the rear motor, which, in turn, allows the automaker to achieve levels of performance it expects out of its 7 series vehicles.
The design is unmistakably BMW, right down to the massive, unnecessary kidney-shaped grille in the front. BMW claims that the i7’s grille has been “completely reinterpreted to achieve a modern and distinct look.” For example, the grille is outlined in a narrow band of “exclusive crystal glass” LED, which helps accent it and — arguably — draws more attention to it.