BMW has essentially 'papped' itself by showing us photos of a heavily-camouflaged i7 saloon winter testing, way up inside the Arctic Circle. Perhaps it's a way of apologising for the (undisguised) XM photos?
Testing in Sweden
The Munich company says that the i7 is the "world's first pure-electric luxury saloon" which suggests that no one has yet told them about the Mercedes-Benz EQS. Ah well... The i7 is currently working through its winter testing programme in Arjeplog, Sweden - for decades now the choice of Arctic testing locations for the globe's major carmakers.
So, what's being tested? Well, according to BMW: "Suspension components, together with steering, braking and vehicle stability systems, that are being developed for the future generation of the BMW 7 Series will be honed to perfection in the extreme climate. Specifically, springs, dampers and various regulating systems will be subject to performance-orientated tuning to ensure maximum driver feedback and enjoyment to match the several different drive modes. Amongst the extremely challenging winter conditions, Lapland's frozen lakes with their low road friction coefficient provide the opportunity for meticulous development of the steering, Dynamic Stability Control system (DSC) and the accurately regulated interaction between friction brake and deceleration by means of energy recuperation."
Battery performance
Of course, it's a test for the batteries too - electric range tails off as the temperature drops, so BMW will be carefully testing the battery's endurance of Polar air, making sure that its heating and cooling system can keep the cells in their happy place. Mind you, the i7's battery is already pretty well-tested - it's the same basic setup as used by the iX electric SUV.
Using the iX as a base, we can infer that the i7 will come with a two-motor, all-wheel drive setup, developing as much as 520hp in i7 50 xDrive form. The iX 50 xDrive can hit 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds, so expect similar performance from the i7. Range? Well, the iX can manage 630km with its biggest 105kWh battery pack, so being as it's lower and sleeker, the i7 will likely go a little further than that, maybe even matching the EQS' 700km+ range.
On sale at the end of 2022
The styling under the camouflage seems to hint that the front end will be something of a cross between the narrow-grille iX and the current, big-grille 7 Series. The i7 will be joined on sale by a conventional petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid 7 Series when it goes on sale in late 2022.