BMW have confirmed that they are indeed working on a large luxury SUV. Not just that, there’s possibly a 9 Series in the pipeline too.
The new BMW X7 will be the largest SUV from the company yet. The X5, which does duty as the sports activity vehicle of the range, complete with a seven-seat configuration, will soon a larger, more luxurious sibling for company, and increase the BMW model range further. The X7 will go up against the likes of the Range Rover Sport, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 in India, while aimed at the slew of large SUVs in the US, the likes of offerings from Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti and Lincoln.
As far as the driveline choices go, we can expect to see the 313-PS 40d straight-six TwinPower Turbo-diesel and the 450-PS 50i V8 TwinPower Turbo-petrol. Both should sport the 8-speed Sports Automatic transmission and xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive. With the X5 already tipping the scales at over 2.2 tonnes, we hope there’s a higher aluminium percentage in the new car to keep weight down as much as possible.
BMW have also hinted at a 9 Series, a move will see them take the fight to the cars positioned above the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, including the recently unveiled S-Coupe. We expect it to be heavily based on the Pininfarina-designed Gran Lusso Concept which BMW showed off earlier. The coupé will deliver a combination of elevated 2+2 luxury touring levels and a sleek, sporty design. Expect nothing less than a 450-PS TwinPower Turbo-petrol 950i, with possibly a 544-PS twin-turbo V12-powered 960i as well. More information should become available post the Beijing Auto Show later this year.
Story: Jim Gorde
Images: BMW Press
