Update: We confirmed with BMW that the report by Automotive News was incorrect. The next-gen 7 Series will not be introduced at the Munich Auto Show.
Germany’s home auto show is moving this year from Frankfurt to Munich, in the heart of Bavaria. And naturally, BMW will be an important player in this new event format. The Munich-based automaker has yet to announce their participation in the local auto show due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are promising signs that the show will move forward in September. With the German car show moving to Munich every two years, BMW will fill the gap year with their own NextGen event hosted at the BMW Welt.
A new report from Automotive News states that BMW will indeed join the Munich Auto Show from September 7-12, 2021 and could use this opportunity to premiere a series of models and concepts. One of those concepts is the next generation 7 Series which is due out in 2022.
When it arrives next Summer, the future BMW 7 Series generation will be both a bold statement of individualistic design philosophy and a technological tour de force on all fronts to properly battle with the Stuttgart and Ingolstadt enemies. According to insider reports, the design of the new G70/G71 7 Series will blend in both futuristic, modern cues and some old-school traits.
For instance, recent camouflaged prototypes showed some E31 8 Series vibes, with a clearly visible shark nose. Part of the effect is also attributed to the new dual headlight setup, with two horizontally separated units. Another key visual will be the revised kidneys which, of course, will stay huge.
The side profile will be dominated by straight lines, with the Hofmeister kink retaining its classic shape and taking inspiration from predecessors like the E38 7 Series as well as from the 2014 Vision Future Luxury show car. The exterior mirror design and flush door handles will come courtesy of the new iX. For the first time in the history of the 7 Series, the location of the license plate will migrate from the trunk gate to the rear bumper.
The future G70/G71 will also premiere an all-new cabin concept, with some technologies such as the Natural Interaction expected to be borrowed from the iX technology flagship. The new 7 Series will also feature the new, state-of-the-art BMW infotainment technology and the Curved Display concept from the I20. The Bavarian luxobarge will also be equipped with a more advanced autonomous driving technology called Motorway Assistant and will also get the fancy automated opening/closing of the doors from Rolls-Royce.
As far as powerplants are concerned, the upcoming G70/G71 7 Series will provide a mix of choice to cater to any taste: petrol, electric, plug-in hybrid and pure electric. The entry-level variant will be the 735d (allegedly offered exclusively with rear-wheel drive), followed by the petrol-fed 740i xDrive and the PHEV iterations: the 745e xDrive and the all-new M750e xDrive.
The most eagerly awaited 7 Series models are the ones with all-electric powertrains. The list is opened up by the rear-driven i740 and continues with two range-topping xDrive versions: i750 and i7 M60, the last one being the formal successor to the mighty V12-powered M760i. The high-end electric 7 Series is rumored to have around 650 hp of peak output, a 120 kWh battery and promising a whooping 700 km range.
[Renderings: @BMW43__ on Instagram]
