Yesterday BMW released new pictures of its 2009 7-Series. Visually, the new 7-Series looks more curved and less like the controvirsial angular looks of the previous generation, however the 7-Series still looks like a natural continuation to the previous generation. The instrument cluster echos a return to traditional styling with simple, four dial setup and the transmission selector has been transferred from the steering column to the center console. The new car is both larger and heavier than the previous generation, however the design helps hide this and potential customers are unlikely to be able to notice this.
There is an array of specable features including Active Blind Spot Detection, Night Vision with new Pedestrian Detection, Side View and Back-up Cameras and more, all of which help it compete with the Mercedes S-class. Power in the new 750i (the only spec BMW refered to in the US release) is up by 40bhp to 400bhp from the previous generations 360bhp. However the European release speced the 3-Liter R6-Turbodiesel (730d), 3-Liter-R6-Biturbo (730i) and 4.4-Liter-V8-Biturbo (745i) as having outputs of 245bhp, 326bhp and 407bhp respectively with Torque levels being 540 Nm, 450 Nm and 600 Nm. The idrive system (once reffered to as ‘idistract’ by Jeremy Clarkeson) also includes the built in Owners manual where drivers will be able to access every detail of the cars performance and information. The car is expected to appear at the Paris show where GTspirit.com will be covering it’s unvieling, and deliveries will begin in Spring 2009.
