BMW's flagship has been the epitome of innovation for decades. This seventh-generation 7 Series continues the tradition in all its glory. MASTERS gets a sneak preview at the Rijswijk location.
"The new 7 Series is our top limousine," says a proud René de Heij, Brand Manager at BMW Netherlands. "You notice this not only by its presence, but also by the finish and the way in which you are pampered as driver and passenger. In a high-tech way that you have never seen before in this segment. Moreover, the i7 is the only top electric limousine in the world. Not even our friends at Rolls-Royce have an electric version yet." During our introduction to the new BMW 7 Series, we fall from one pleasant surprise to another. Take the rear right seat, for example, although seat or armchair is a better name. That's an almost private jet-like workspace. Via the operation of a door pod, you can make the front seat slide forward, while an ottoman folds out. The armchair tilts back a bit and you sit prince-like. On super supple leather, in which you sink a little, but which is supported in all areas. Via that same door pod, you can activate massage functions in the seat and control the theater screen above you, among other things. At 31.3 inches, this is the largest screen ever built into the back of a car.
The theater screen functions on 5G, as does all the technology to facilitate autonomous driving. "Should you have a kink into the garage, the car remembers that and flawlessly drives the same bit back and forth. Matter of pressing a button and then you can take your hands off the wheel and your feet off the pedal." Technically it can also be done from outside the car, but legally that is not yet allowed in the Netherlands. The car is prepared for level 3 autonomous driving; it is waiting for legislation that allows it here. Part of the technology to allow the 7 Series to drive itself is hidden behind the Kidney grille, whose frame has a lighting module. Something that needs attention, you have to pay attention! Like the Hofmeister kink: a curve in the car's C-pillar, a signature style element of BMW. This is incorporated for the very first time in the glass of the last side window of the door and very nicely follows the contour of the chrome section in the body. Another first is the two-tone paint option: you can have bottom and top painted in two different shades. That has not been offered on a BMW before.
A choice of colors is available for the illumination of the dashboard and door panels. Nice detail: the color of the lines in the pattern of the Sky Lounge glass panoramic roof changes along with this LED show. "I've been around quite a few years, but this is such a level higher!", thinks De Heij. Also of a high level are the materials used: from Veganza for those who want alternatives to leather to cashmere for those who want the finest wool as upholstery. For the new 7 Series, a collaboration has been established with Swarovski: the crystals appear, optionally, in certain elements of the controls and even in the lighting. The back of the seats is made from recycled PET bottles, the mats from old fishing nets. Even a car of nearly two tons can be made from recycled materials without sacrificing quality or luxury experience. The plug-in versions of the 7 Series, and certainly the i7, are by no means CO2 bombs. But already during the production of the cars, BMW has made every effort to keep emissions as low as possible. The factory in Dingolfing is completely powered by green electricity. This fifth generation of batteries contains only 10 percent cobalt of what was in the previous generation. "We want to use as few raw materials as possible at the front end. That's why BMW emphasizes circularity: it wants to use as few new raw materials as possible and reuse as much as possible." Already 30 to 35 percent recycled materials are used in the average BMW today; in the short term it should reach 50 percent.
Those who purchase the new 7 Series can opt for a Bowers & Wilkins sound system with an output of - hold on - 5,000 watts! You won't know what you're experiencing! Partly because of the 4D Bass experience, which makes you feel the bass sound in your lower back. As if you were sitting in a concert hall. "There are speakers in the headrest, in the roof... You don't get rid of more speakers!" Another highlight of the new 7 Series is the Grand Entrance: you can open the doors remotely with the key or your cell phone. You can even program it so that when the car "sees" you coming (up to a distance of twenty meters), the door already opens for you. Sensors prevent a door from opening when someone or something is standing next to it. "Because all the elements are so sophisticated, the whole thing is such a revolution again!"
This is not First Class, this is Very First Class!
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