BMW has given an M badge to nearly every vehicle in its lineup. The iconic M, for motorsports division, has graced the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, X5 and X6 SUVs, and even a few Z Roadsters over the years. But the one constant in the BMW lineup that has never received the motorsports work over is the 7 Series, the German automakers’ uber-luxurious flagship.
According to reports, that could soon change. Maybe.
BMW has long held that the 7 Series, with the stated goal of ultimate comfort, is incompatible with its M division, and have left the race-inspired tuning to others, such as Alpina and its modified 7 Series—the B7. But according to our sources at sister magazine, Automobile Magazine, BMW may be considering a high-performance version of the 7 Series for North America.
Automobile Magazine believes that a stripped down, performance variant of the 7 Series will wear an M770i xDrive badge, and will be powered by a 475-hp, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. Going further, the M770i will supposedly be more nimble, thanks to weight savings from a carbon fiber roof, trunk, and hood. It’s also expected to see carbon ceramic brakes, a quad-exhaust, aluminum suspension bits, and exclusive 20-inch wheels. In total, the M770i xDrive should be close to 450 pounds lighter than the V-12-powered 760i.
For the less enthusiastic chauffeur, BMW is said to be considering offering entry trims with a 260-hp four-cylinder engine, an inline-six, and two different plug-in hybrids. In the escalating one-upsmanship war on transmission gears, all of the new 7 Series variants are expected to receive ZF’s new nine-speed automatic, except for the M770i xDrive, which will receive an eight-speed automatic.
Source: Automobile Magazine
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