If you wanted to see every detail both inside and out of the new BMW 7 Series, we’ve got your video. BMW has released a collection of various videos of the car driving, sitting and being talked about by head of BMW design Adrian Van Hooydonk. We’ve taken the time to piece them all together into something a little more coherent than just separate videos so you don’t have to wade through video after video. You can just grab a beverage and sit back and enjoy all that is the new BMW 7 Series.
With the introduction of the 7 Series, BMW appears to be trying a host of new things. One of the latest is an entire PDF based brochure on the car and all of it’s technical achievements. So instead of endless press releases (the kind that you see on this site and others from BMW) they have created and released an entire brochure complete with images meant for distribution on the web. And as you would expect, we’ve got it for you below…
BMW Press Release: The launch of the fifth generation of the BMW 7 Series sets a new benchmark in automotive luxury, technical innovation and class-leading driving dynamics, combined with emissions reducing and fuel saving technology.
The flagship of the BMW model range debuts in November with a host of world firsts and will initially be offered with a choice of three powerplants, one diesel and two petrol engines. The two petrol-powered cars will be offered with a long-wheelbase body too. All three engines produce more power yet use less fuel and produce less emissions than any rival premium product.
Here is a short little video that shows interior and the basic use of the next iDrive system. Besides being a new controller the actual visual portion of the system has been completely redesigned as well. Check out how the new controller can rock now!
Our friend Jonathan Spira, of Roundel and the BMWCCA, has also written a very nice article on the new systems content and functions which can be viewed here, and of course our many articles on the new iDrive.
2009 BMW 7 Interior and iDrive from BimmerFile.com on Vimeo.
Today we finally get to see what all the cat and mouse games have been hiding; the NEW F01/02 BMW 7 Series. These photos are to be utilized in future marketing for the model. Our information on the menu layout of the new iDrive is also partially confirm within these photos. We will of course have more detailed info within the next few days if not later on today. In some of the images you can see the Four Cylinder and BMW museum buildings, also some appear to be taken inside the Welt. Images obtained via Flickr.
7/4- It appears the Flickr stream has been removed we do apologize and will upload the pictures as we have time later in the day.We wish everyone a happy and healthy 4th of July. For now here is the link to 7Post
With the upcoming release of the next generation BMW 7 Series we thought a nice stroll down memory lane would be in order. We have compiled a brief history of the model line since the inception of the 7 moniker in 1977.
The first 7 Series followed the BMW design that was introduced in the 1977 6 Series coupe. It combined an elegant exterior along with new technical innovations. This original 7 (E23) was designed to provide the sporty handling of a BMW along with powerful refined engines in a package for the upper class of society. The initial flagship of this first 7 series was released in 1980 as the 745i. Interestingly enough the car’s designation did not indicate displacement (and many thought today’s models started that trend!) it was powered by a 3.2 litre turbo 6-cylinder engine. It was one of the performance leaders in the sedan segment at the time. Over the 9-year span it was built (1977-1986) about 280,000 of this model were produced. It was a huge success for BMW.
Though the CS concept has been shown many times and described by BMW countless more times some of the finer design points get lost. One of these is the incredible moving turn signal located on the front fenders and doors. Essentially that due to the location and position on the front door the turn signal pops out and slides to allow the door to open. You can view this at 2:18 in the following movie.
What the recent spy shots of the “F” from our friends at Bimmerpost reveal is that the production car will have its turn indicators in nearly the same location as the CS, part on the fender and part on the door. How they implemented those lights to remain in that position is still up for debate but the shape and location is similar to the CS. The light appears to be smaller in size so the setup may be two hinged pieces allowing the light the remain fixed, we will no more shortly.
This image allows the long and short wheel bases to be compared, the rear door is larger than the front on the long wheel base. These shots are from final testing on the “Ring”.
More info on the soon to be released 7 can be found here
Since we originally gave you much of the details about the soon to be released 7 (07.07.08 as we have been reporting since April) things have been fairly quiet in the form of rumors. We originally discussed the possibility of the famous 7 series night vision being moved into the Heads Up Display. Our sources still indicate this indeed will happen and that it is a product from Siemens VDO.
Though this is not the view of 7 with this technology active it shows what we can expect (according to sources).
The system could consist of a long range infrared camera behind behind the grill allowing for night vision of up to 500 feet down the dark road. Using this technology adapted from military as well as search and rescue will allow the warm objects to show up more vividly on the screen than the cold inanimate objects allowing the driver to see and react accordingly. The presentation in the head-up display has the advantage that the improved night vision is in the driver’s direct field of vision. Within the HUD makes more sense for safety sake, looking to the side (iDrive screen) was always tedious and took the driver’s eyes off of the road.
Last month we broke the news to the world that there was a new iDrive on the horizon for most of vehicles in the BMW lineup. This was met with some skepticism. As sources have continued to verify it there is very little doubt that it will indeed happen sooner than later.
What we did not know was the total package. One of our sources indicated that the car would have a hard disk and a system from Harmon Becker but we were unable to confirm this information at that time. Time has rolled on and our good friend, Jonathan Spira, has confirmed some of the same information. He has acquired information that essentially has spilled the beans on much of the up coming iDrive.
We still are a bit puzzled by the hard drive allotment; 10GB for a phone book? All in all this sounds to be a much improved system when you also consider the fact it will also feature the new controller. As we know all too well sources sometimes give you bits and pieces of information and you have to sift through them, we commend this effort and can at least agree that the system will feature a hard disk; we know this from the interior of the F01 7 series as there is only one slot! The details may still not be finalized and changes are happening regularly so the system we will eventually see may be a bit different. Information we have obtained indicates that there will be a multimedia showing of the new iDrive around the launch of the F01/02 on 07.07.08.
As we indicated a few days ago (we sat on it for a while as per a request from a source) BMW would be utilizing engines similar to the four cylinder turbo specifically utilized in the John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S. Weeks ago we discussed the 7 series will be offering a hybrid. Today it was all made official:
BMW to use engines jointly developed with PSA in BMW brand cars
05.06.08, 1:32 PM ET
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. will use the four-cylinder engines it has jointly developed with French carmaker PSA in BMW brand cars, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said in a pre-release of his interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He said the future generation of the BMW 1 Series will be fitted with these four-cylinder engines.
The report said BMW had previously intended to use these engines only in the MINI brand cars.
Reithofer also disclosed the new generation of the BMW 7-Series, which will be launched this year, will be fitted with a new hybrid engine.
While details continue to emerge out of Germany on the next generation 7 it is apparent that this car is being designed to out drive and out tech the competition. The latest spy photos have shown a vast majority of the side profile and the overall massive size of this vehicle.
The latest photos come via Ebay of Germany; anyone need a front bumper for their F01 7er? (Our sources have made it clear to us that this color will not be offered!)
We have come to learn that the official press release will be in July (07.07 we have been told), production will indeed start in September. The “official” world premiere will be Paris 2008 in October. It will hit showrooms in very late October early November.
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We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: F01 7 Series, Video Jul 6th, 2008 7 Comments 
