A new BMW: the magnificent 7 Series

The 2009 BMW 7 Series, despite its premium badge and price, won’t be a car for the shallow. Looks alone probably aren’t enough to see it drive off the showroom floor. But this all-new car, the fifth generation of 7 Series, has plenty of power and intelligence -- which a lot of people find attractive.

Power for the two models heading Stateside, the 750i and longer-wheelbase 750iL (no plans for a diesel as yet, but don’t bet against it), comes in the form of a twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter, all-aluminum V-8, promising V-12–type muscle from four less cylinders. The numbers run at 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. Impressive enough to urge this luxury sedan from standstill to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds (5.3 for the longer car). Yet despite making more power than the last generation’s engine, this one also uses less gas (BMW claims an improvement of 2-3% in consumption and 20% fewer emissions), thanks to things like those turbos, variable valve timing and direct fuel injection.

These performance and consumption figures also benefit from certain weight-saving measures, like making the roof, hood, doors and side panels from aluminum. But BMW doesn’t stop there. The company’s EfficientDynamics program includes Brake Energy Regeneration, which uses the engine’s power on overrun to charge the battery. When the car is accelerating, the alternator is disengaged -- so as not to divert kinetic force from performance. Other ancillaries -- such as the air conditioning compressor -- may also be taken out of the loop when necessary, providing an ingenious distribution of energy when and where it’s required.

Suspension geeks: BMW ditches the usual MacPherson front strut arrangement for double wishbones. This is big news. The Sport Package also deploys electro-hydraulic anti-roll bars.

Further brain power is found when one delves into the 7’s options list. There’s a choice of a Side View camera system along with a Parking Distance Control, helping the driver negotiate a partially obscured junction or a narrow gate. A Night Vision system includes a pedestrian recognition feature. A Lane Change warning system uses radar to alert a driver of any vehicles lurking in the blind spots.

Another cool part of the Head-up Display is a camera that ‘reads’ speed limit signs and shows that information to the driver. Then, of course, there are things like ventilated and massaging seats, a 40GB hard drive for music storage, and four-zone climate control.

This new BMW 7 Series makes its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show later in the year and should go on sale next spring. Prices will be announced nearer to that time, but the current model starts at $76,800, so feel free to extrapolate from there.

-- Colin Ryan

Photos: BMW

Comments

[allen]

That interior looks hideous. The exterior is ok I guess, but the interior looks like something from the 70's. What were they thinking...

[H Tran]

It kinda looks okay. Much like the current Lexus LS, although admittedly Lexus (as has MB) had taken styling cues from the Bangle 5-series. One thing I had always liked about the Bangles was that, it look'd Germanic However, how future proof is the kidney grill?