2009 BMW 7-Series

Press release

From time to time the benchmarks in progressive automotive technology are set anew. And now such a rare and great moment is coming once again, with the new BMW 7 Series poised to enter the market. Introducing the fi fth generation of this outstanding luxury saloon, the world’s most successful manufacturer of premium cars shows how sheer driving pleasure and the thrill of exclusive generosity can be perfectly combined with one another in optimum harmony.

The new BMW 7 Series stands for inspiring luxury, thrilling driving dynamics, and overwhelming visual presence. It is the result of stylish design and the supreme art of engineering. Not least, this top-end saloon owes its trendsetting character to a wide range of innovations serving to make driving and travelling in the new BMW 7 Series a lasting impression of wonderful class the driver and occupants will enjoy forever. Suspension technology unprecedented the world over and a brand-new range of engines help to make the new BMW 7 Series an incomparable driving experience in all model versions. For the fi rst time, the new model combines optionally available active steering with integrated rear-wheel steering, offering a new dimension of steering comfort and agility as well as unparalleled driving stability under even the most dynamic driving conditions.

The new BMW 7 Series comes as standard with BMW’s newly developed Dynamic Damping
Control. Likewise featured as standard, Dynamic Driving Control enables the driver at the touch of a button to choose the degree of damping force, the gearshift dynamics of the automatic transmission, as well as the control maps for the gas pedal and steering assistance. Anti-sway control is available as an additional option, with its intervention and effect tailored to the damper set-up and program selected by the driver.

A perfect combination of effi ciency and dynamics, luxury and innovation.

The new BMW 7 Series is entering the market with a V8 and a straight-six gasoline engine both featuring Twin Turbo technology and direct fuel injection (High Precision Injection) as well as the fi rst representative of a new generation of six-cylinder diesel engines. Benefi ting from these drive units and the wide range of engine technologies serving to enhance the all-round standard of effi ciency to an even higher level, the various models in the BMW 7 Series, following the BMW Effi cientDynamics development strategy, now also offer truly outstanding performance, fuel economy and emission management data in their respective segments. The eight-cylinder developing maximum output of 300 kW/407 hp between 5,500 and 6,400 rpm in the BMW 750i, for example, is the most effi cient engine in its performance class and the only engine of its kind worldwide with the turbochargers fi tted in the V-space between the two rows of cylinders.

The two six-cylinders, in turn, reach a level of power and performance so far restricted to eight-cylinder power units, combining this potential with outstanding effi ciency and much lower weight with a positive effect on the balance of the car and, accordingly, its all-round agility. Especially for the BMW 740i, output of the six-cylinder Twin Turbo has been raised to 240 kW/326 hp at 5,800 rpm. The newly developed six-cylinder diesel in the BMW 730d, in turn, develops maximum output of 180 kW/ 245 hp at 4,000 rpm. And it goes without saying that all engines comply in full with the strict EU 5 emission standard.

Paving the way once again: iDrive control in the BMW 7 Series.

The new BMW 7 Series is a forerunner for the entire automobile sector also in terms of control systems for all kinds of vehicle functions. Just like the former model featuring the trendsetting BMW iDrive control concept for the fi rst time, the new BMW 7 Series again sets the standard in terms of ergonomics, effi ciency and functions for optimum control of the car.

High-resolution graphics on the Control Display, the new, standardised menu guidance, and optimised operation of the Controller are additional highlights boasted by the new generation of the BMW iDrive control system. Direct selection buttons on the Controller now provide access to the menus controlling the radio, CD, navigation, and elecommunication functions. Visual control aids and consistent user guidance in the display facilitate orientation within the various menus. In practice, these navigation functions offer unique size, clarity, brilliance, detail and variability in the presentation of data on maps, a map preview function facilitating selection of the desired destination from the list of towns and cities. New operating logic with letters and numbers arranged in circular form in the display speeds up the process of entering addresses or telephone numbers.

Even greater safety than before: Lane Change Warning, Active Brake Assistant, and BMW Night Vision with detection of individual persons.

Apart from driving comfort, active safety is also enhanced to a new level of perfection in the new BMW 7 Series by way of innovative and, in part, exclusive BMW driver assistance systems: As an example, the new BMW 7 Series is the fi rst saloon in its segment available with a Head-Up Display projecting driving information on to the windscreen.

Optional cruise control complete with an integrated Stop & Go function likewise supports the driver, allowing him to cruise along smoothly on the motorway or on country roads, keeping an appropriate distance from the vehicle ahead at all times even in slow, irregular traffi c at very low speeds. And the Active Brake Assistant included in this system is able to signifi cantly reduce the risk of bumper-to-bumper collisions. Yet another new feature BMW is presenting for the fi rst time is the newly developed Lane Change Warning. Together with Lane Departure Warning likewise available on the BMW 7 Series, this system enhances driver awareness whenever necessary by generating vibration signals on the steering wheel.

With the Lane Change Warning function this vibration alert is supplemented by an LED display fl ashing on and off on the base of the exterior mirror. The speed limit display featured in connection with Lane Change Warning provides permanent information on the speed limit currently allowed on the route the driver is taking. A further innovation is BMW Night Vision now able to detect and recognise even individual persons on or near the road. And with the extended emergency call function offered by BMW ConnectedDrive, the BMW 7 Series has yet another safety feature exclusive to BMW.

World-fi rst introduction of unrestricted access to the internet in the car.

Technical innovations in the areas of air conditioning, entertainment and communication, as well as extra space and comfort within the interior, make the experience of driving in the BMW 7 Series an outstanding pleasure for both the driver and his passengers. And now BMW is becoming the fi rst car maker in the world to offer unrestricted use of the internet within the car through BMW ConnectedDrive. This makes the Controller and the Control Display of the iDrive system a genuine online terminal enabling the user to call up any website he would like to access from the worldwide data network. Exclusive to the new BMW 7 Series, BMW ConnectedDrive even allows remote control of the car’s auxiliary heating and ventilation from the user’s mobile phone as yet another option. Automatic air conditioning featured as standard in the BMW 7 Series ensures particularly fi ne dosage and variation of temperatures within the car, free of draughts or unpleasant air turbulence.

As an option there is also four-zone automatic air conditioning offering individual control also for the passengers at the rear. The BMW 750Li and BMW 740Li also available right from the start upon the introduction of the new BMW 7 Series ensure even greater comfort and luxury at the rear. They come with wheelbase extended by 140 millimetres or 5.5", offer additional legroom and headroom at the rear, and boast a wide range of comfort features either fi tted as standard or available as an option, making even long drives in the new BMW 7 Series a relaxing and entertaining experience.

Sportiness of the most elegant kind typical of BMW.
The No 1 design theme characterising the new BMW 7 Series is the harmonious combination of elegance and sportiness. Apart from the car’s long wheelbase, the long and sleek engine compartment lid, and the short overhang at the front, the passenger compartment moved further to the rear and the low, sleek roofl ine emphasise and, indeed, highlight the dynamic proportions of the new BMW 7 Series. The unusually dynamic and stretched lines of the car are therefore a clear testimony to superior sportiness and at the same time convey a powerful impression of precise elegance.

The balanced harmony of these features comes out particularly clearly in the side-line of the car, fi rm and taut areas around the wheel arches and on the doors as well as the slender shoulder areas above the contour line extending back from the headlights at the front to the rear light clusters accentuating the elegant character of the saloon.

With its particularly light and dynamic look, the greenhouse adds an especially sporting touch borne out above all by the slender window frames and roof columns. Through its contours alone, the new saloon is somehow reminiscent of a coupé with its sleek lines stretching from the low transition of the engine compartment lid into the low-slung A-pillars through the low roofl ine all the way to the rear with its soft and gentle swinging curvature.

The front end: clear structures and generous surfaces ensuring natural presence.

With its large and puristically styled engine compartment lid, the new BMW 7 Series offers a clear and calm look from the front. The contour lines of the car come together at the front end, pointing towards the BMW kidney grille, just like the headlight units tapering out towards the middle of the car. The BMW kidney grille is indeed the most conspicuous design feature at the front, emanating natural presence and supremacy in its large dimensions, upright position, and extra-low arrangement within the front air dam. Intentionally not being surrounded by function joints, the kidney grille again emphasises its precise position, the rising bars in the grille serving at the same time to accentuate the powerful look of the front end.

The wide lower air intake scoop stretches across the entire front air dam right round to the sides. Foglamps in clear glass look positioned far to the outside at the edge of the air intakes serve additionally to accentuate the wide track of the car, a further feature adding to this fl air being a chrome band forming the upper border on top of the air intakes.

Dual round headlights in generous design generate the concentrated look and focus again so typical of BMW. Indeed, this look is particularly striking on the new BMW 7 Series, borne out, fi rst, by the corona rings providing a daytime lights function and, second, by an additional light bar which, like an eyelid, stretches across the round headlights at the top to provide a particularly visual dividing line. Another new design highlight is the direction indicators made up in each case of eight LED lights positioned in two vertical rows at the outside next to the cylindrical lights.

Sculptured surfaces and precise lines determining the side view.

Modern design of the car’s surfaces giving the saloon its unmistakable character is yet another highlight of the BMW brand in general and the new BMW 7 Series in particular. The sculptured overall effect generated in this way results from the combination of skilled craftsmanship, precise technology, and a clear feeling for the unique fl air and style of a BMW. The interplay of concave and convex surfaces so typical of a BMW creates a highly effective course of light and shade, emphasising both the powerful and dynamic expression and the cultivated elegance of the car. The side panels, for example, appear to grow out smoothly over the rear wheels of the car without creating the impression of a conventional wheel arch.

The shoulder line gives the side of the new BMW 7 Series particular elegance by stretching from the headlights at the front via the door openers all the way to the light clusters at the rear. Beneath this precisely fi nished line the side surfaces are modelled in a convex structure, then following a concave curve at the lower edge of the doors. At the bottom these panels border on to the doorsill line rising up higher than usual. Interacting with one another, the shoulder and doorsill lines give the car a particularly stretched look from the side.

At the same time the doorsill line in its elevated position adds the impression of a particularly slender body stature. Yet a further important impression is added by the chrome-plated side gill with its in - tegrated directional indicator function at the transition from the front side panel to the driver’s and, respectively, front passenger’s door. The character line highlighting the wheel arches merges out of the front edge of the side gill, continuing in a gentle sweep into the doorsill line. And serving as an important proportion feature on sporting vehicles of this calibre, the gill intake at the side emphasises the long distance between the front axle and the instrument panel.

Further design highlights clearly reveal the focus on precision and the ability of BMW’s designers to accentuate selected design features in superior, subtle style. Like the side window graphics, for example, the headlight units and rear lights of the new BMW 7 Series are surrounded by a frame literally chiselled into the surface of the car – an effect clearly emphasising the reversed “swing” at the bottom of the C-pillars well-known to the expert as the “Hofmeister kick”. The window graphics, in turn, boast a particularly sophisticated and, at the same time, sleek look through the chrome trim surrounding the glass surfaces and made out of one piece.

All of these design features are naturally also to be found on the BMW 750Li and BMW 740Li. With their wheelbase extended by 140 millimetres or 5.5", these particularly luxurious models offer even more comfort at the rear. The additional body length is provided completely along the rear doors, ensuring particularly comfortable entry to and exit from the car. And at the same time both models boast their own unique roofl ine and C-pillar contours providing a side view reminiscent of the “regular” saloon with its “normal” wheelbase. Horizontal lines at the rear providing an extra touch of power and supremacy.

The sculptured surfaces along the body also ensure a smooth and sleek transition from the side panels to the rear end of the new BMW 7 Series. The striking contour line along the car is continued, for example, around the rear light clusters with their particularly graphic structure. The roofl ines, in turn, fl ow down along the rear fl anks of the car all the way to the bumper, the entire rear end thus surrounded by dynamic lines with a particularly sporting touch.

Horizontal lines and light edges accentuate the powerful, superior and muscular impression of the car on its wide track particularly visible from the rear. The chrome trim above the numberplate support connecting the rear light clusters with one another across the entire width of the luggage compartment lid adds another, particularly striking feature. The light edges along the luggage compartment lid and the rear bumper run parallel to the chrome trim bar also encompassing the reversing lights.

The additional segmentation of the bumper, fi nally, serves once again to emphasise the sheer width of the rear end, just like the two refl ectors positioned far to the outside. The two-piece rear lights on the new BMW 7 Series come in that special L-shaped contour so typical of BMW. Inside, the rear lights are dominated by wide, horizontally-arranged light bars in a threedimensional look rising up to the outside and therefore following the contours of the light units. Fed by LEDs, the light bars generate a warm and homogeneous lighting effect.

The direction indicators also come in LED technology, and the third brake light fi tted in the upper edge of the rear window as well as the numberplate illumination also consist of light-emitting diodes.

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Modern, luxurious, inviting: the interior

Apart from the supreme experience of space and comfort meeting the greatest demands both front and rear in terms of generous kneeroom, headroom and elbow freedom, the design and fi nish of the interior in the new BMW 7 Series emanates a wonderful impression of luxury in its most modern form. The overall ambience is exclusive, sophisticated and, in particular, inviting. Both the overall design and layout as well as the combination of colours and the choice of materials symbolise exclusivity and harmony all in one. With the position of the centre console rising up slightly towards the driver and the cockpit structure promoting intuitive interaction with the car, the new BMW 7 Series comes with the particular style of driver orientation so typical of the brand. The interior design reflects the full character of a car which, in its technology and design, caters specifi cally for the needs and well-being of both the driver and his passengers.

This generous and harmonious feeling of space is further emphasised through the coherent colour scheme on the dashboard and the door linings. The horizontally arranged colour
levels extend throughout the complete interior, the upper door lining following a fl owing line at the bottom reaching its lowest point on the B-pillar and rising up again gently towards the rear. In combination with the armrests positioned at exactly the opposite angle this creates an elegant combination of tense but smoothly harmonised surfaces on the doors. High-quality materials and outstanding quality of fi nish are combined in the interior of the new BMW 7 Series with a supreme standard of craftsmanship and precision. Visible seams along the instrument panel and the upper doorsills, as well as the central ventilation units with double surrounds, again bear out exceptional attention to detail.

The dashboard comes as standard in a newly developed soft skin material almost identical through its soft surface and special grain to high-quality leather. The exclusive fl air of the interior is emphasised additionally by the black colour on the instrument panel and the double seam fi nish.

As an option, the dashboard is also available in soft cowhide.

The close connection of design and function is also borne out by the integration of the door openers in the chrome trim along the door panels. Similarly, the door closing handles integrated in the door panel trim combine unpretentious design with superior function. The wide range of interior colours, trim and upholstery options available sets the foundation for custom - ising the car according to the owner’s personal style and preference. Indeed, an appropriate combination of colours and materials serves to highlight either the classic, sporting, elegant or representative character of this unique saloon, depending on the customer’s individual choice.

Quite apart from the material chosen, a chrome highlight bar along the lower edge of the trim strips adds further style and brilliance. And for the fi rst time a BMW luxury saloon is now also available with trim strips in aluminium design, just as BMW is becoming the world’s fi rst car maker to use high-tech ceramics on selected control elements and switches: Instead of the galvanised material used as standard, this special ceramic material may be featured as an option on the iDrive Controller, the electronic gear selector lever, and the rotary knobs for the automatic air conditioning and audio system. And last but of course not least, the paintwork on the new BMW 7 Series is available in a choice of no less than 12 highly attractive colours.

BMW 750Li and BMW 740Li: setting a new standard in motoring on the rear seats.

The interior in the BMW 750Li and the BMW 740Li provides ideal conditions for grand touring comfort enhanced to an even higher level of perfection. The extra space provided by the extended wheelbase is reserved exclusively for the rear-seat passengers, just as the differently designed roofl ine provides extra headroom at the rear.

This clearly turns the Sheer Driving Pleasure so typical of a nBMW into an even greater experience, particularly when being driven by a chauffeur. Indeed, this supremacy is enhanced even further by the option to fi t the rear with two single seats and a console in the middle including an iDrive Controller. These individual seats may then be adjusted fore-and-aft by up to 70 millimetres or 2.76", with the seat and backrest angle as well as the position of the headrests also being individually adjustable. As an option the new BMW 7 Series is available, inter alia, with four-zone automatic air conditioning complete with separate control at the rear, additional air vents and vanity mirrors in the roof lining, seat ventilation and massage seats, as well as two versions of BMW’s sophisticated entertainment system at the rear complete with a DVD player and two monitors integrated in the front-seat backrests.

The entertainment functions are masterminded either by remote control or by an additional iDrive Controller on the centre console at the rear, again allowing the rear-seat passenger to enjoy an active driving experience.