Rumors have been spinning around that BMW’s upcoming electric 7-series, presumably named the i7, will come in three different versions, one of which will be performance version tuned by their M-division, possibly called the Mi7.
The news of an electric BMW 7-series was first announced last month when Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG stated at BMW’s Annual Accounts Press Conference 2020:
“And I can tell you officially today: That our BMW 7 Series flagship will be one of them. The next-generation 7 Series will be available with four drive train variants: petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric. All drive trains will be based on a single architecture. And the top, most powerful 7 Series will be fully electric!”
It has been hard enough to get BMW to make a single fully electric car since the i3, but according to BMWBlog there will be three different electric versions of the car, which outnumbers the number of traditional gasoline offerings it will have. As always, these are rumors, so take this news with a grain a salt until something official is announced.
There will be two standard versions of the i7, and i740 and i750, which will have power outputs between 350 and 450 hp. BMW will offer a single-motor rear-wheel-drive powertrain, but it will only be available on the i740.
The most exciting version however is the performance i7 M60 (or Mi7) which will have to take on the role of replacing the current M760Li which features a monster 6.6-liter V12 engine which BMW is probably going to stop producing soon. Given that this version will have to be the fastest 7-series offering, sources say that the it will at least have 650 hp and its battery pack will possibly be over 100 kWh, allowing it to travel over 400 mile.
Interestingly enough there is rumored to be another M-version of the car, but it also is not strictly a gasoline version. Instead, it is a plug-in that is named the M750e which will have an output of over 500 hp thanks to its 3.0-liter V6 engine mated with an electric motor. A regular 745e plug-in is also rumored to carry over to the next generation.
That just leaves a 735d diesel model as well as a 740i gasoline option as the only non-electrified options rumored to be available.
If the rumors turn out to be true, then it will be a very impressive turnaround for BMW, having five of its seven offerings having some sort of electrification, three of which being fully electric. It might actually be to good to be true, so we will have to wait for further confirmation.
What do you guys think? Let us know down in the comments below.
