After nothing but guesswork about how BMW would name trim steps for the all-electric i7 sedan, BMW itself has given one of the trims away by promoting an i7 xDrive60 sedan on its U.S. website. This reads like a mashup of the trims available for the iX, which are the xDrive50 and the M60. Both use a 115-kWh battery and dual motors, the former puts out 516 horsepower and 564 pound-feet of torque, the latter makes 610 hp and 749 lb-ft. We know that the electric i7 range will have as one of its models the most powerful version of the new 7 Series available. It’s possible the i7 xDrive60 comes with the same or similar power as the iX M60, while leaving room for an i7 M60 with even more giddy up. Or, BMW Blog thinks the ultimate performance edition could slot even higher with an i7 M60 or i7 xDrive 70.
Another suggestion of tweenerism is the estimated EPA-rated range BMW lists for the i7 sedan. The automaker pegs the iX xDrive50 at up to 324 miles of range, the iX M60 at 280 miles, and the i7 in between those two at around 300 miles.
That’s it for the totally unexpected bits from the battery-powered seventh-generation 7 Series. The rest we’ve gleaned from teasers and previews, such as the crystal headlights for the upper DRL units, big sparkly kidney grille, the Interaction Bar, iDrive 8 and its curved display for the front occupants, and the 31-inch, ridiculously 32:9 widescreen, retractable 8K display tied into to the Bowers & Wilkins surround sound audio system to serve the rear passengers. BMW Chief Technical Officer Frank Weber also said the executive transport would offer SAE Level 3 autonomous driving from launch, a step above the Level 2 features to be had in the iX.
The question now is when we’ll see it. Auto Beijing had been set aside for the debut, but a pandemic flare up in China has matters on edge over there, so we’re not sure that show will open as scheduled on April 21.
Source: www.autoblog.com