BMW 7-series hybrid due in 2009

By Nick Gibbs

07 July 2008 14:30

BMW will launch a hybrid petrol version of the newly unveiled 7-series in 2009, but admits it’s more for green-leaning V8 addicts than seriously eco-aware bosses.

Even with the latest lithium-ion batteries, the forthcoming 4.4-litre V8 petrol-electric version will struggle to match the astonishing 39.2mpg and 192g/km of CO2 of the new six-cylinder diesel, especially when BMW will launch stop-start technology for the whole range within two years.

The hybrid is likely to cost several thousand more than the £65,000 it’s estimated you’ll need to buy the regular, twin-turbo 750i that goes on sale in November 2008.

Why an expensive hybrid when the diesel is so efficient?

We put that question to Dr Klaus Draeger, BMW board member responsible for R&D and project leader for the new Seven. He shrugged and said: 'Some customers really want a V8 with very good fuel economy.'

Mercedes, one of BMW’s partners on the hybrid technology, is also expected to launch a hybrid version of the S-class next year, and both cars will rival the V8-engined Lexus LS600h. There’s no word yet whether the 7-series hybrid or the similarly powered X6 hybrid will come to the UK, but the publicity would be difficult to pass up.

So no Efficient Dynamics on the new Seven, then?

The new range does get elements of BMW’s fuel-reduction programme, such as the decoupling alternator, but the company is still working on a stop-start engine cut-out for automatics. According to Dr Draeger, the system right now 'is not state of the art', which is why it’s only used on manuals.

The traffic-friendly technology will likely be grafted to the 730d, 740i and 750i, as well as next year’s 735d. This twin-turbo version will replace the V8 diesel, a engine Dr Draeger calls 'heavy and expensive'.

In overseeing the design of the car, BMW’s head of design Chris Bangle had to ensure that the essentially boxy but fuel-efficient shape still had enough drama and elegance. 'Even though it’s a very clean car it’s still got a wonderful sense of emotion in the form,' he told CAR. 'The line-work of the car basically gives its gesture and proportion, dividing up the body and making sure it looks long and lean.' The result is undeniably more elegant, if not as bold as the previous car, but the Bangle Butt has definitely gone.

BMW 7-series (2009) first pictures

By Ben Pulman

05 July 2008 00:00

This is BMW’s fifth-generation 7-series, and despite looks inspired by the Concept CS, if we’re honest the new car doesn’t look much different from the old car. Worry not though, as there are plenty of technical highlights to surprise and delight. Rear-wheel steer, Efficient Dynamics technology, night-vision, unrestricted internet access, a revised iDrive system and an all-new 3.0-litre diesel engine stand out.

Looks first please. Tell me about the design of the new BMW 7-series.

Longer and lower than the current car, the new BMW 7-series features flatter surfaces and tighter curves that help to disguise its bulk. And while that chrome side strake might look odd, it does break up the long flank of this Bavarian limo.

The obvious new detail is the extra large kidney grille, which BMW says emphasizes the ‘sheer power and width of the car’. Within that new front nsnout you’ll find the gizmos for the radar-guided cruise control that can brake the car to a stop, and then allow it to set off again. If you spec Side View the front bumper also houses two cameras that help you nose out of blind junctions.

This new engine?

From launch there will be three engines, including an all-new diesel, a revised twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol and the forced-induction V8 from the X6. The X6 will also donate its new hybrid system to the 7-series, with a launch expected by the end of the decade. The engine line-up is as follows:

Diesel
730d – 3.0-litre straight six, single turbo, 241bhp and 398lb ft

Petrol
740i – 3.0-litre straight six, twin-turbo, 322bhp and 332lb ft
750i – 4.4-litre V8, twin-turbo, 402bhp and 442lb ft

A revised six-speed automatic gearbox is standard and BMW’s new Dynamic Driving Control unit allows you to modulate the dampers, throttle response, steering and gearshift settings via three modes.

What other technical highlights are there?

To further enhance the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ tag the new 7-series can come with Integral Active Steering which means a variable rack up front and rear wheels that can turn up to three degrees.

Efficient Dynamics technology is also standard but not as extensive as we’d hoped. There’s Brake Energy Regeneration in the shape of a decoupling alternator, while the 740i and 730d feature active aerodynamics. Unfortunately there’s no stop-start but BMW is making lots of noise about its extensive use of aluminum. The lightweight metal features in the suspension while the roof, doors, bonnet and side panels are also made from the stuff.

I know iDrive still features inside, but what else?

After the radical departure that the last Seven signified for BMW, the new car is fairly conservative although the cabin becomes driver-orientated once more.

There’s a new iDrive system with programmable favourite buttons and a 10.2-inch screen. There’s now the option of unrestricted access to the world wide web, which conversely means that you can access the air-con controls of your Seven via your mobile phone.

The dial controlling iDrive sits on one side of the joystick gearshift, which returns after the current car’s column-mounted shifter. On the other side of the gearstick are the buttons for the Dynamic Driving Control unit.

Other tech highlights include a head-up display, a lane departure warning system and a night vision camera that can detect individual people. There’s also a speed limit display that incorporates a camera mounted in the rear-view mirror. It monitors road signs so it can make sure it displays the correct speed limit, even if you’re on a road with variable limits.

To keep rear passengers happy there’s a four-zone climate control system, and an extra 140mm between the wheels if you spec the long-wheelbase option.

The new BMW 7-series will debut at the Paris motor show this autumn with sales starting shortly afterward.

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept: first photos and video

By Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks

10 June 2008 00:00

Who’d have guessed that BMW’s latest concept car would be made of cloth? The GINA Light Visionary Model – unveiled today – is a far-flung research concept from Munich that has shaped the latest generation of BMWs. This car can change shape and surface at the flick of a switch, and the 'GINA' principles it espouses have been used to craft today's BMW design language.

Fancy flame surfacing today? No worries – tap a switch and your bodywork goes all taut-edged and angry. Prefer to go more classical and clean-edged? Not a problem. GINA does it all.

BMW GINA: what it all means

BMW design has been known to ruffle a few conservative feathers in the past, and today's disclosure of its GINA process is bound to raise eyebrows. Standing on its 20-inch alloys, the Light Vision Model concept looks like a modern-day BMW sports car, displaying taut sculpted muscles and the brand’s unmistakable signature form language of flame surfacing.

Yet the Light Visionary Model is not made of metal but of cloth. The virtually seamless stretch fabric is secured on a meshwork of metal wires that shields the movable substructure beneath.

Made of cloth?! Has Chris Bangle finally lost the plot?

Bear with us here. The BMW group design director explained at length to CAR the method in his madness at a private viewing ahead of the official media launch in the newly renovated BMW museum in Munich.

The Light Vision Model is part of a project that has shaped BMW design for a decade and led to ground-breaking developments such as iDrive and flame surfacing. It's the ultimate expression of the company's GINA design mantra. ‘The cloth can change your mind about what a car can be,’ he says mysteriously. Click ‘Next’ below to read more of Bangle’s explanation...

So how much can the BMW Light Vision Model change shape? Are we talking Transformers here?

There’s more to GINA than its fabric skin – this car allows for extreme degrees of personalisation, as individual elements of the substructure are movable too. Electro-hydraulically controlled, they change their position to help the flexible fabric skin move to take on entirely new shapes.

For instance, as soon as the driver flicks on the lights, the closed fabric covering over the Light Vision Model's headlights gradually unpeels, making the car seem almost alive.

Another sensor slowly opens the door, triggering shark-like creases across the profile. Another lifts the beltline slightly, forming a more aggressive stance.

And inside BMW's GINA concept?

Prepare to step into the concept's stark cloth cabin, and the car awakens; the centre console and instrument panel swivel to almost cocoon the driver and previously invisible headrests delicately rise from the minimalist seats.

It’s an eerily weird experience – this car lays bare the thinking that has been shaping future BMWs for the most part of this decade. Only now that Bangle's revolution is over have the top brass in Munich allowed this internal concept car to be revealed.

‘We are going to have to find new ways to adapt to how the world sees cars, what they want from them and over what lifespan,’ explains Bangle. ‘In this context, we have to offer a product that is more about lifestyle and personalisation statements.’

BMW Light Vision Model: based on a Z8

The two-seater roadster you see here is based on a Z8 chassis, as BMW’s Californian think-tank Designworks was working on the spaceframe car around the same time it started the GINA project. The concept was then shipped over to Munich where head of exterior design, Anders Warming, evolved it into a full-life sculpture.

So just how much should we read into this latest, old-but-new and very definitely zany BMW concept car? The Munich company – like others – is always probing future techs and sometimes works at a very advanced level of crystal-ball gazing.

BMW’s designers argue that it’s only through such experimentation that we’ve ended up with today’s iDrive multi-controller (although some would debate whether that’s a good thing…).

For all its sins, iDrive is one example of personalisation – by giving customers the choice of which functions to display on the menu screen.

Enough claptrap! Will BMW ever build cloth cars?

Get real. Of course BMW is not seriously planning to build cars made from cotton or nylon. The GINA programme is all about ideas – this is a concept car in the classic, exploratory sense of the phrase.

‘It was like a lightning rod triggering discussions on where this could lead in terms of production and manufacturing,’ Bangle claims. BMW regularly challenges current manufacturing methods and is working on rapid systems that allow a way of digitally creating car parts for a fraction of the cost; this was actually used to craft the Z4 M’s bonnet, apparently.

BMW's GINA thinking: a long-range forecast

‘It would be wrong to say BMW’s future is cloth cars,’ says Bangle. ‘But it does make you think about cars differently – that’s the whole idea behind it.’

So Gina is a future vision of the automobile, and an object of research.

‘The M1 Hommage and CS concepts are where we are at aesthetically,’ says Bangle. ‘This car is about far in the future.’