BMW i7

Electric version of the upcoming 7 Series gets an early outing in prototype form

- GREG KABLE

TESTED 28.3.22, MUNICH, GERMANY ON SALE NOVEMBER

The i7 is the technological spearhead of the upcoming Mk7 (G70) 7 Series and BMW’s largest and most luxurious electric car to date. Related models are in the pipeline, including mild-hybrid diesels and petrol-electric plug-in hybrids. However, it is the advanced i7, with a 500bhp-plus dual-motor electric drivetrain in the initial four-wheel-drive model, that will kick off sales of BMW’s new flagship four-door in November, promising a range, we’re told, of close to 400 miles on the WLTP test cycle.

To learn more about the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS rival, Autocar joined a round of i7 shakedown tests with a team of BMW engineers in Germany before the car’s unveiling later this month.

As the photographs here show, the prototype we drove on public roads was fully camouflaged, so there is not a lot we can tell you about the detailing within the exterior, other than at around 5400mm in length, it is the largest BMW model to date. It is over 100mm longer than today’s sixth-generation LWB 7 Series.

The i7 prototype’s spacious interior was also covered up but it’s clear certain elements are taken directly from the iX, the electric SUV with which the i7 also shares its drivelines and lithium-ion battery, among other key components.

This is a big car, more presidential limousine than your typical European luxury saloon in terms of visual boldness, with an upright silhouette, traditional three-box proportions, large framed doors that open and close automatically and, thanks to a wheelbase stretching to over 3000mm, luxurious and accommodating rear quarters.