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The arrival of the flagship i7 xDrive60 marks the German manufacturer's innovation and groundbreaking efforts in the realm of electric vehicles, as part of their long-running luxury 7-Series
BMW’s transition to electrification is now well on its way, picking up pace in the last couple of years with a slew of electric vehicles, or EVs, like the iX3, iX and i4. The latest in the line-up is its flagship, the BMW i7, the EV equivalent of their long-running luxury 7-Series.
In 2013, BMW launched the groundbreaking i3 which was not related to any of their existing models. It seemed then, car manufacturers were intent on developing an independent line of EVs. Of late BMW has pursued a strategy that seems more logical, that is to embed the EV model as one of the models within the traditional BMW series like the 3, 4, 5 and 7 Series.
This way, BMW does not confound their current clientele with yet another model range to remember. When the time comes to complete the transition to being fully electric, the EV models would have inherited the traditional model names and roles that BMW has established over the decades at great expense and effort.
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So with the arrival of their flagship, the i7 xDrive60, one immediately knows what to expect, without wondering where or how it will fit in. It also plays to BMW’s traditional strengths and forces the marketplace to adhere to the luxe values we have become accustomed to.
The first BMW i7 xDrive60 shares the general styling of the seventh generation 7-Series but has features that are characteristic of EVs like the much lower requirement of engine cooling and increased aerodynamic and drive efficiency. The i7 xDrive60 gets a slim, split headlight design and there is an option of illuminated kidney grilles. The slim LED headlights will have BMW crystal headlights Iconic Glow as an option.
Actually, having a fully electric powertrain and driveline suits the luxurious character of the 7-Series immensely better than the combustion engines ever did. The electric motors are inherently silent and utterly smooth in operation, something the combustion engines could not achieve even as a V8 or V12.
Moreover, the ability of the electric motors to deliver stunning acceleration from standstill to well over 200 km/h without the need of any transmission shows the superiority of direct electric drive. Even mated to the best automatic transmission available today, the internal combustion engine cannot hold a light to the new electric motors.
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