X

New BMW 7-Series is a smoother, less controversial plutocrat

Over the weekend BMW released information, as well as the first official pictures, of its new 7-Series. The cheers you just heard were from politicians and captains of industry the world over.

Derek Fung
Derek loves nothing more than punching a remote location into a GPS, queuing up some music and heading out on a long drive, so it's a good thing he's in charge of CNET Australia's Car Tech channel.
Derek Fung
bmw-7-series_1.jpg
1 of 8

Over the weekend BMW released information, as well as the first official pictures, of its new 7-Series. The cheers you just heard were from politicians and captains of industry the world over.

Hey, haven't I seen you before?
At first blush — especially when viewed front on — the new 7-Series doesn't look all that, well, new. While the clothing may be all new, it's clearly an evolution of today's controversial range-topper. Underneath the skin is where BMW has chosen to be more cutting edge.

The new 7 goes on sale overseas later this year, with Aussie sales due sometime in 2009. Naturally specification and pricing have yet to be confirmed.

bmw-7-series_2.jpg
2 of 8

When big isn't big enough
If you can afford to spend the price of a Sydney studio apartment on a car, you'll probably want you and your fellow passengers to stretch out in maximum comfort. As such, the 7-Series — and almost every other luxury sedan — comes in two lengths: standard and long wheelbase.

Long wheelbase models — like the one above — are 140mm longer than standard cars, with all of the extra length going to the rear seat passengers. Hence, rear doors that are significantly bigger than the front ones, as well as an "L" tacked onto the end of the model name, like 740iL instead of 740i.

bmw-7-series_3.jpg
3 of 8

Like before but smoother
With its long bonnet, the overall shape of the new 7-Series is the same as before, but the harsh industrial detailing and the tacked-on boot have given way to smoother and less controversial forms.

bmw-7-series_4.jpg
4 of 8

Number soup, part I
Once upon a time the three-number model names from BMW made sense. Let's take for instance, the 740. The first number, "7", denotes the "series" of the car — generally speaking larger or more expensive cars are given higher numbers. The last two numbers, in days gone by, indicated the displacement of the engine. So, in our example, "40" would indicate that there's a 4.0-litre engine under the hood.

For the past decade or so, the engine displacement number has been merely indicative. So the new 740i and 740iL come with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, while the 750i and 750iL come with a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8.

bmw-7-series_5.jpg
5 of 8

Number soup, part II
BMW's switch to smaller engines mated with turbochargers is driven partly by the more onerous carbon emissions standards coming in to force in the EU in a few years.

  Current 740i New 740i Current 750i New 750i Engine 4.0-litre V8 3.0-litre TT 6 4.8-litre V8 4.4-litre TT V8 Power (kW) 225 240 270 300 Torque (Nm) 390 450 490 600 Fuel economy (L/100km) 11.2 9.9 11.4 11.4 CO2 output (g/km) 267 232 271 266

bmw-7-series_6.jpg
6 of 8

iDrive
Next to gear selector is the iDrive controller knob, which lets the driver and passenger configure most of the car's settings from major to minor via the 10.2-inch screen in the centre of the dash. An auxiliary jack for MP3 players is standard, while a hard disk-based entertainment will also be offered.

bmw-7-series_7.jpg
7 of 8

iDrive, you drive
The rear seat DVD entertainment system and iDrive controller seen here will probably be part of the car's extensive options list.

bmw-7-series_8.jpg
8 of 8

The present
If you're having trouble telling the new and old 7-Series apart, here's a reminder of what the current model looks like.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos