BMW’s latest 7 Series update gives the electric i7 a substantially revised powertrain while preserving the model’s basic approach: buyers can choose between combustion and electric power in the same flagship sedan rather than selecting a separate EV model. The 2027 i7 receives a larger battery, new-generation electric-drive technology and updated electronics, although BMW has retained a 400-volt architecture in this model.
When BMW introduced the new 7 Series in 2022, it raised the bar for large luxury sedans—a segment that has become increasingly niche. Unlike Mercedes-Benz, which sells the electric EQS alongside the conventional S-Class, BMW made the powertrain a choice within the 7 Series range. Buyers can choose a V8 or the electric version, with details such as the absence of badges and exhaust outlets providing the most obvious visual distinctions.
Since then, BMW has introduced newer electric vehicles based on the 5 Series and 3 Series, along with their corresponding SUVs. Those vehicles replaced battery packs using prismatic cells with more energy-dense cylindrical cells. Their motors remain electrically excited synchronous units, but the drive system now incorporates a silicon-carbide inverter in a more compact package.
That sixth-generation electric powertrain was designed for BMW’s clean-sheet Neue Klasse family. It also replaces the legacy system of dozens of individual electronic control units, each dedicated to a single function, with a smaller number of powerful domain controllers. These computers will manage those functions while providing faster processing, broader chassis-control capabilities, improved powertrain efficiency and easier software updates.
This approach may have created a problem for the 7 Series. Should BMW’s flagship be clearly superior to every other EV in the lineup in power, energy density and range efficiency? Apparently, the company’s board decided that it should not necessarily be. As part of the 7 Series’ mid-life update, BMW therefore made comprehensive changes beneath the i7’s bodywork.
Sixth-generation power
Compared with the previous i7, the 2027 model has a larger battery pack. Net capacity rises from 101.7 kWh to 112.5 kWh. However, unlike the Neue Klasse and the iX5 tested recently, the i7 retains a 400-volt electrical architecture.
BMW also offers a less powerful 50 xDrive and a more powerful M70 xDrive. For the first drive, the mid-range 60 xDrive was tested. It produces a total of 544 horsepower (400 kW) and 549 pound-feet (745 Nm), figures that are roughly equivalent to those of the pre-facelift model.
Source: arstechnica.com
