BMW ActiveHybrid 7
BMW calls its ActiveHybrid 7 “the fastest-accelerating hybrid sedan in the world.” Acceleration to 60 mph in less than five seconds, and a top speed of 150 mph, will rank it among the fastest sports cars in the world. Very cool, but keep in mind that the hybrid system may still not be enough to raise the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 beyond 20 mpg in the city.
The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 arrives in US showrooms in spring 2010, carrying a price tag of $103,000.
The mild hybrid ActiveHybrid 7 sedan employs a combination of lithium ion batteries, turbocharging, direct injection and a 4.4-liter V8 engine. Combined output will be 455 horsepower.
Expect fuel economy about 15 percent better than the 750i, which gets 15 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. Unlike the new Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid, which is the least expensive S-Class model, the hybrid 7 comes with a healthy premium over the standard 7-series.
The BMW ActiveHybrid 7's closest comparable vehicle is the $104,000 Lexus LS 600h L. The Lexus full hybrid system uses a 5-liter V8 engine and two electric motors to deliver 430 horsepower—and a combined city/highway EPA mileage rating of 21 mpg. When the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 arrives, discriminating buyers who like a dab of hybridness with their mounds of horsepower and luxury will have two vehicles to test drive.
A video run-through of the BMW ActiveHybrid 7's design and features.
There are slight distinctions between technologies in the two vehicles—such as the BMW mild hybrid system versus the Lexus’s strong hybrid system; the 7’s lithium ion batteries versus the Lexus nickel metal hydride; the BMW eight-speed automatic transmission versus the Lexus continuously variable transmission. But at that level of refinement and power, it will probably come down to preferences for brand and driving characteristics: the BMW’s sportiness versus the Lexus’s detached smoothness.
The BMW ActiveHybid 7 is set apart from its 7-series brethren by a special hybrid instrument cluster, aerodynamic ten-spoke turbine wheel design exclusive to the hybrid; and the availability of Bluewater metallic exterior paintwork.
Like the existing models within the BMW 7 Series, the hybrid model is available as an “extended version” that increases the wheelbase by five and a half inches.
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17 / 26 MPG 13.84 / 9.05 L/100km
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BODY TYPE:
Sedan
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TECHNOLOGY:
Hybrid
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BASE MSRP:
$102,000
