The All-New 2016 BMW 7-Series Debuts

[King T]

[King T]

[King T]

Boy, did we have a lot of headaches trying to figure out what BMW was doing with its new flagship? There were millions of spyshots out there, a leak right before we entered 2015 and a lot of rumors about the new car that just didn’t give us peace. Well, the moment has come to take a look at how the new 7 Series turned out.

I’ll say it from the beginning: for me, the exterior design doesn’t cut it. That’s the vibe I got from the photos initially but after seeing the car in person, nothing has changed in my mind. Yes, it's not as breathtaking as the new S-Class and it feels more like an evolution than anything else. However, the real advantages of the 7er lie beneath the sheet metal, as we were guessing already. Let’s take a closer look.

Exterior/Interior design

At first, the 7 Series will be launched in two different guises, the M Sport and Pure Excellence trims and those will be joined by the BMW Individual Design Composition package. The latter will only change the way the car looks like on the inside so, as far as the exterior design goes, we’re dealing with a simple choice.

My personal favorite is the M Sport package, even though you’d be right to say that the lower side of the front bumper resembles the design seen on the new X1. Overall, this is the one for me as it seems to work better with the new, large kidney grills up front (that are extremely impressive in person, by the way), connected headlights, and new taillights.

The kidney grilles also feature active bars that change their position depending on the car’s speed and need for air, but we’ll get into that a bit later.

The front fenders, as you might’ve noticed, have kept the side gills from the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept. Apparently, they are helping out with the air flow in the front wheel wells and make the cars more efficient. The chrome details are not a plus in my book, even though BMW considers they add a bit of exclusivity to the look of the car.

Inside the cabin, the driver and his right-side passenger will not get all the goodies we hoped for. The digital instrument cluster looks better than what we have today and a bit more refined while the rest of the cabin feels like an improvement over the previous model but not a complete revolution as we expected.

There’s no augmented reality included and no second screen in front of the passenger that would communicate with the driver. The materials used have been improved and aluminum dominates the cockpit, from the door panels to the stick shift.

In the back, we get a panoramic sunroof that now can mimic the night sky via 15,000 LEDs when it’s dark out and new seats that have a massage function and one that can help you get your metabolism going called Vitality. Testing it out, I found out that it's actually a feature meant to help you stretch while traveling for long distances.

The rear right-side passenger can now stretch his/her legs also thanks to a reclining front seat that has an embedded seat rest included. There’s also a new iDrive system that has touch-sensitive surfaces and allows you to do a bunch of new stuff.

In the center armrest, you’ll notice a 7” tablet that is removable and usable from outside the cabin. With it you can adjust the standard four-zone climate control (that now can also be adjusted via touch-sensitive controllers) and perform other functions as well. There’s even wireless inductive charging included for your smartphone, inside the front center armrest.

New technology for the driver and the passenger included

As far as safety goes, BMW wanted the new 7er to be as good as possible. They added the best of the technology they have at the moment. The driving assistance features are now sporting radars on every side of the car as well as cameras.

Backing out of a tight parking spot with poor visibility is easy as you’ll have surround view and even a 3D projection of the car in relation to the surroundings at your disposal. That 3D imagery must be one of the highlights of the car. You can control it via the new gesture recognition feature that follows the movement of the driver's right hand and performs various task.

Basically, you can imagine it as a thrid person view that uses all sorts of data collected by the car's sensors to create a map of the nearby environment. Then, you can take a look at the car from up top and change the perspective too. Think of GTA V and you'll get the point.

The Traffic Jam Assistant and Stop&Go features now work outside of highways too, on every road. You can even have your car read the speed limits and adjust its speed accordingly without any additional input. To top all of it off, the car can now hold its own lane too.

Remote parking is a first in the industry and BMW will surely point it out as many times as possible. The new 7 Series can be parked in extremely tight spaces using the new display key that is similar to the one used in the i8.

With it, you can set the car in front or the back of the parking spot and by keeping a button pressed it will slide itself into it. That will be useful for tight garages but out in parking spaces it wouldn’t help that much as other people might need to open their doors too.

The biggest news must be the new 3D sensor that recognizes gestures inside the car. It scans the area between the gearbox lever, steering wheel and dash and looks for pre-set hand movements. With it you can adjust the infotainment volume, take or reject phone calls and so on.

Other safety features include the new BMW Laserlight with Selective Beam, a world premiere in itself. After battling it out with Audi to launch the world’s first production car with laser headlights, BMW takes another step forward and adds the selective beam to the options list. With it, you can forget about switching between high and low beams without dazzling other traffic participants.

Since we’re talking about buttons inside the car, we should also mention the new driving experience control. Apart from the usual ECO Pro, Sport, and Comfort modes, now we also get Adaptive mode that is said to be selecting the best settings for the way you are driving and the road you are on.

There’s also the optional integral steering that is now available for xDrive models as well while the Executive Drive Pro chassis control that uses electromechanical anti-roll bars to reduce body roll.

Last but not least, the new 7 Series now has heated everything inside the cabin. From heated seats and steering wheel to heated armrests, heated center console and heated rear center armrests. Basically, all but the roof is heated.

New engines with more power and better efficiency

Under the bonnet of the new limousines, BMW will be using only the latest engines it has. They will all be part of the B family that was recently introduced on the 3 Series as well.

The entry level petrol model will be the 740i in its 740Li long wheelbase version and with optional xDrive. It uses the B58 3-liter inline 6-cylinder turbocharged engine making 326 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque.

Thanks to a lower weight than its predecessor (1,800 kg / 3,968 lbs) the new car will sip between 6.6 and 7 liters of petrol for each 100 km (40 - 42.8 mpg UK) while accelerating to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.5 seconds.

The 750i (and its Li, xDrive versions) will be powered by a revised version of the 4.4-liter V8 twin-turbo N63 mill making the same 450 HP and 650 Nm of torque. With a weight of 1,945 kg (4,287 lbs), it is 130 kilos lighter than its predecessor.

The 730d (and its Li, xDrive versions) will be using the new B57 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine BMW has been working on. It makes 265 HP and an astonishing 620 Nm (457 lb-ft) of torque, a 7 HP and 60 Nm (44.2 lb-ft) increase over its predecessor.

Quoted to sip just 4.5 to 4.9 liters of fuel for each 100 km (57 - 62.8 mpg UK) it will accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.1 seconds.

Last but not least we have the 740e, 740Le and 740Le xDrive model, the first plug-in hybrid in the 7 Series’ history. It won’t be available from day one but later in 2016.

It uses the same layout as the xDrive40e X5 model, with a 2-liter turbocharged petrol engine up front joined by an electric one included in the gearbox case. The petrol unit makes 258 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque while the electric motor is good for 95 HP and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque.

Together they can deliver 326 HP and accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.5 seconds in the xDrive version. In electric mode, the car will cover up to 25 miles (40 km) while the top speed in EV mode is set to 120 km/h (75 mph).

Fuel consumption is said to be 2.1 l/100 km (134.5 mpg UK) while CO2 emissions should stand at just 49 grams/km.

The 8-speed transmission has been revised to have less friction and works in conjunction with the navigation system. Therefore, it prepares the optimal gear before reaching a corner or a steep hill, for maximum efficiency.

As standard, all 7 Series models will get a 2-axle automatic self-leveling air suspension and dynamic damper control. If you want to, you’ll be able to raise the suspension manually for bumpy roads or mall parking lots. It will also drop 10 mm automatically when entering sport mode or going over 75 mph (120 km/h).

In the car’s construction, BMW has implemented their new Carbon Core philosophy. Borrowing CFRP from the i sub-brand, the 130-kilo (286 lbs) drop in weight was achieved by using the lightweight material in combination with aluminum wherever possible, including the cabin.

The new 7 Series will be built at the Dingolfing plant as its forefathers before it and production will kick off this summer with deliveries slated for the end of the year.

[King T]

(Car And Driver)






2016 BMW 7-series Revealed: Ultra-Plush and Gadget-Stuffed
BMW's supercruiser loses some weight but gets seriously tech-heavy.

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.

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).

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.

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.

A Triumph of Touch Screens
Any discussion of a BMW’s in-car electronics must start with iDrive, which retains its control knob but now incorporates a touch screen, thus adding pinch-and-zoom functionality and the ability to move the nav map with your finger. Lest rear-seat passengers feel left out, they can have a touch screen of their own in the form of a built-in, removable Touch Command Tablet in the center armrest. With it, one can adjust the climate controls, the seats, and the infotainment system (to play on the dual screens in the back of the front headrests); alternately, it can be used to surf the web via the Wi-Fi hotspot. Finally, because one’s self worth is based on the number of touch screens in one’s life, there is an optional touch screen even on the key fob. It can tell you whether the car is locked, the windows are open, and the fuel level and range.

To mark itself as a truly forward-looking luxury car, however, the new 7-series had to go beyond even touch screens, as important as they are. Thus, the new 7 introduces Gesture Control. A camera up by the rearview mirror peers down and recognizes five hand gestures, which the driver makes in the vicinity of the center stack: rotating a finger clockwise turns up the audio volume; counterclockwise turns it down; a swiping motion to the right waves off an incoming phone call, while pointing at the dash accepts a call. Finally, a two-finger jab is a programmable gesture, which for example can be set to jump to the next radio preset or to set the nav destination for home. In our brief demonstration, however, the system recognized the gesture about one-third of the time. Which means that not only can drivers feel ridiculous talking to their dashboard trying to get voice recognition to work, they can now also look ridiculous waving their hand at the dashboard.

A more impressive party trick would be standing outside the vehicle while the new 7-series parks itself—unfortunately, that functionality is available but will not be offered in our market. Instead, we’ll have to be satisfied that the parking-assist system can maneuver into perpendicular as well as parallel spaces. Nor does the automated steering in the adaptive cruise control’s traffic-jam assistant enable truly hands-free driving. Although it helps steer, you’re supposed to keep at least one hand on the wheel.

Other driver-assistance systems have enhanced functionality. The adaptive cruise can work with speed-limit recognition to automatically reset the car’s speed in reaction to changes in the speed limit; it can be set to cruise at the speed limit or, more helpfully, a fixed amount above it. The Side Collision protection feature makes the blind-spot-warning system more insistent: Ignore its warning and attempt to change lanes anyway, Jersey-style, and the steering wheel will fight you. The Active Park Distance Control includes an auto-stop feature when reversing, preventing touch parking. Thankfully, these more-intrusive driver-assistance systems can be more easily controlled: A single button turns them all on, all off, or calls up a programmable mixed setting.

Scent of an S-class
Other accouterments recall the latest S-class. Beyond the mere Luxury Rear Seating package (rear seats with massage and ventilation, heated door and center armrests, and the Touch Command Tablet), an available Rear Executive Lounge Seating package brings a center console with a fold-out table, a reclining rear seat, and a front seat that can scoot farther forward and features a flip-down footrest on the front seatback. Yes, there is also an automatic perfume ionizer.

There is also wireless phone charging in the center console, a 1400-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system with 16 speakers, and a standard panoramic sunroof. The latter can be upgraded to a Panoramic Sky Lounge LED Roof, in which the glass is etched and illuminated by LEDs to look like a starry sky. If that feature recalls the starlight headliner offered by Rolls-Royce, well, that’s probably not an accident.

It seems that BMW tried to think of everything, and if the new 7-series owner finds it all a lot to learn, BMW has a solution for that, too. The company’s Encore Delivery program will send out a “BMW Genius” (hey, just like Apple!) to show the new owner how to use it.

The tally for all this is $81,300 for the 740i, an increase of $3300 over the 2015 740Li, and $97,400 for the 750i xDrive, a nearly equal $3400 above the outgoing 750Li xDrive. Those prices are before destination charges—that’s currently $950 but, in a slightly underhanded gesture, may increase by the time the new 7 reaches dealerships.

[King T]

7-Series M Sport

[King T]

[King T]

23 Things You Should Know About the 2016 BMW 7 Series

As s agile as a BMW 5 Series, as cosseting as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and as impeccably put together as an Audi A8, the forthcoming 2016 BMW 7 Series will topple the luxury segment’s hierarchy for a number of reasons.


1. An all-new, turbocharged straight-six engine, code-named B58, is part of a new engine family with three-cylinder (B38, used in the new Mini Cooper) and four-cylinder (B48, in the Cooper S) variants.

2. The I-6 in the 740i makes 320 hp, the V-8 in the 750i makes 445 hp, and the V-12 in the 760Li is good for about 545 hp. There will be two diesels—powered at 265 hp and 320 hp—and a plug-in hybrid, fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo-four and a 90-kilowatt electric motor. The hybrid comes to the U.S. in 2016 and will be badged as the 740e xDrive. It can travel 23 miles on all-electric power at up to 75 mph.


3. The 2016 BMW 7 Series uses light but strong carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts made in Moses Lake, Washington, and shipped to Germany for final assembly. Parts include the parcel shelf, roof cross-members, and reinforcement tubes that run the length of each roof rail.


4. The body shell is almost 90 pounds lighter than before, and the new 7 Series should weigh between 4,050 and 4,300 pounds, 285 pounds less than the current car.


5. Using aluminum hats on the steel brake discs, four-piston brake calipers that require less structural bracing, and smaller wheelhubs and suspension knuckles, BMW reduced unsprung weight by 15 percent over the outgoing car.

6. Compared to the outgoing 7 Series, the weight distribution is now perfectly balanced, and the center of gravity sits closer to the road.

7. Air springs and adaptive dampers are now standard, and there’s an optional electromechanical anti-roll bar adjustment that changes the level of roll resistance by decoupling the anti-roll bars.


8. Adaptive driving mode predicts which of three vehicle settings—Comfort, Comfort Plus, and Sport—best suits conditions by determining how the car is being driven, using information from its navigation system to proactively switch between modes.

9. Stereoscopic cameras at the top of the windshield detect big obstacles such as speed bumps and signal the car to soften its adaptive dampers.


10. An eight-speed automatic remains the only transmission, although it has reduced internal friction, a wider, more fuel-efficient ratio spread, and navigation-based predictive shifting.


11. For now, BMW plans to sell only the long-wheelbase version of the 7 Series in the U.S., mirroring Mercedes’ decision to not import its standard-wheelbase S-Class. At 206.6 inches, the new 7 Series is about 1 inch longer than the outgoing long-wheelbase model.


12. A key fob with a color touchscreen (above) allows owners to remotely drive the 2016 BMW 7 Series forward into a garage or narrow parking space and then reverse it out. The system currently works only with forward parking and cannot reverse into a space remotely. U.S. laws prohibit this feature because regulations require the brake pedal to be physically depressed to shift a car out of park. However, BMW is petitioning the U.S. government for a workaround and will offer remote parking here as soon as it is legal.


13. The 7 Series has the first application of a new touchscreen iDrive interface. In addition to the standard rotary controller on the center console, the infotainment system now responds to touches on its dash-mounted display.


14. You can now also gesture to control the infotainment system. A small infrared camera mounted near the map lights monitors hand motions near the shifter. Rotate your index finger to adjust the audio volume, and point at the screen with two fingers splayed like a peace sign to start navigation to your home address. If you receive a call over Bluetooth, pointing toward the screen answers the call while waving your hand to the right dismisses it.


15. You now use the touchscreen to change the air-vent settings or activate the heated seats, but you still use physical knobs to adjust the cabin temperature.


16. The seats are fantastic; they perfectly hug your body and can pamper you with massages.

17. Adaptive cruise control uses data from the navigation system and cameras that read traffic signs to automatically adjust the speed. Drivers can program the system to exceed the speed limit by about 10 mph.

18. A self-steering system can keep the car centered in its lane at speeds up to 130 mph and can actively prevent you from leaving your lane if there’s a car in your blind spot.

19. Available rear-wheel steering enhances maneuverability in town and stability at speed.


20. The 2016 BMW 7 Series starts production in Germany late this summer and will be at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September. BMW expects to deliver the first cars to the U.S. this fall.


21. A new Active Kidney Grille automatically opens and closes to balance the engine's cooling needs against aerodynamic performance. It's the first BMW with an electric grille opening.


22. Wireless charging for smartphones is now available in the center console, and there's even an additional microphone so passengers can join in on Bluetooth calls.

23. Pricing for the 2016 BMW 740i starts at $82,250, while the 750i xDrive will cost $98,350 when both cars launch in the U.S. this fall.

[King T]

[King T]

Assembly

[SSJ455]

It looks like they took the DNA from the Hyundai Equuis and the new Impala and had Dr. Frankenstein put them together in the body of a Bentley.

It's alive!!! It's aliiiive!!!!

[King T]

[King Sun]

Well... It still looks to same but im loving the drivetrain. I don't think they can top the S Class. Hell even the CTS6 and the lincolin concept looks more exciting than this.

[stoopid]

Sweet Jebus.

[Stingray]

Wow, hi tech stuff!

12. A key fob with a color touchscreen (above) allows owners to remotely drive the 2016 BMW 7 Series forward into a garage or narrow parking space and then reverse it out. The system currently works only with forward parking and cannot reverse into a space remotely.

U.S. laws prohibit this feature because regulations require the brake pedal to be physically depressed to shift a car out of park. However, BMW is petitioning the U.S. government for a workaround and will offer remote parking here as soon as it is legal.