Autocar informs us that the production version of the BMW X7 is headed for an LA Auto Show reveal this year. The styling will pull a minor retreat from the swollen features and lines of the X7 iPerformance concept unveiled at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show. However, based on a series of spy photos, we still expect that X7 design language which BMW describes as "a few, extremely precise lines," will turn into run-on sentences simply due to the elongated, high-shouldered bulk of the SUV. The distortion masks a footprint around five inches longer, three inches wider, and 1.5 inches higher than the current X5; in between the size of the Range Rover and the Mercedes-Benz GLS.
The show-stopping line is when Autocar writes, "The launch car will feature a naturally aspirated engine, rather than continuing on from the X7 iPerformance's hybrid powertrain." BMW doesn't make a naturally aspirated engine that it puts in any of its production cars, and hasn't since 2013, so we don't know where this free-breathing lump would come from. At the moment, the BMW's entire X lineup gets on with turbocharged engines, as do the 5 Series and 7 Series sedans that ride on the same CLAR architecture as the X7. Unless Autocar actually meant to write that the X7 will launch with a non-hybrid powertrain, as opposed to a non-turbo one, we've been put onto a mystery that might not get solved until November.
BMW's certainly working on a hybrid X7, though. The carmaker wouldn't divulge the nitty gritties on the powerplant in the X7 iPerformance concept, but it's safe to assume it'd be the same unit that's in the 740e iPerformance sedan, a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder strapped to an electric motor. The assisted motor is expected to come after more traditional engine choices have filtered out to the public, potentially ranging from the 3.0-liter diesel six-cylinder in the brand's 30d models to the 6.6-liter V12 in the M60i. With North America, China, and Russia the focus, group CEO Ian Robertson is reported to have hinted that engine choices will come from beyond the X5 and X6 family.
After the X7 debuts in LA, the segment's newest large luxury hauler should go on sale before the end of the year.
Related Video:
The show-stopping line is when Autocar writes, "The launch car will feature a naturally aspirated engine, rather than continuing on from the X7 iPerformance's hybrid powertrain." BMW doesn't make a naturally aspirated engine that it puts in any of its production cars, and hasn't since 2013, so we don't know where this free-breathing lump would come from. At the moment, the BMW's entire X lineup gets on with turbocharged engines, as do the 5 Series and 7 Series sedans that ride on the same CLAR architecture as the X7. Unless Autocar actually meant to write that the X7 will launch with a non-hybrid powertrain, as opposed to a non-turbo one, we've been put onto a mystery that might not get solved until November.
BMW's certainly working on a hybrid X7, though. The carmaker wouldn't divulge the nitty gritties on the powerplant in the X7 iPerformance concept, but it's safe to assume it'd be the same unit that's in the 740e iPerformance sedan, a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder strapped to an electric motor. The assisted motor is expected to come after more traditional engine choices have filtered out to the public, potentially ranging from the 3.0-liter diesel six-cylinder in the brand's 30d models to the 6.6-liter V12 in the M60i. With North America, China, and Russia the focus, group CEO Ian Robertson is reported to have hinted that engine choices will come from beyond the X5 and X6 family.
After the X7 debuts in LA, the segment's newest large luxury hauler should go on sale before the end of the year.
Related Video:
Featured Gallery BMW X7 spy photos
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