S-CLASS SLAYER?
Can BMW's ICE flagship dethrone the best car in the world?
THIS IS A LITTLE MORE FAMILIAR. UNDER THE HOOD of the 760i is the familiar 4.4-litre V8, now putting out 537bhp and 750Nm — very similar to the i7’s outputs, and it gets a mild hybrid system added in there for good measure. Responses aren’t as sharp but not as telepathic as the i7’s. The inherent lag that an engine has is apparent when you drive them back to back, but the turn of speed is immense. 0-100kmph is dispatched in 4.2 seconds, and that’s down to the fact that this car is approximately 500kg lighter than its EV counterpart. It still moves with a similar degree of effortlessness on the go, though. The faint rumble from the V8 is omnipresent, and it gets louder when you hot foot it. No enthusiast will ever complain about that, but it must be said that the silence in the i7 is far more relaxing.
The rest of the car — the way it rides, drives, steers, looks and feels remains nearly the same as the i7. It remains the dynamic benchmark in its class, a proper driver’s car, but at the same time delivers in spades on the luxury front. Much like the i7, it retains the interesting drive modes (sans Hanz’s compositions), the theatre system, the door handle touchscreens, the slightly leftof-centre way of doing things. Unlike the previous-gen car, the 7 Series which had a short and a long wheelbase, the new car will only be available with a single longer-than-before wheelbase. A future Maybach rival with even more luxury? That might be on the cards.
While the S-Class and the 7 Series have been traditional rivals for decades, this 7 Series puts more distance between itself and the S. They might fight in the same space, but I don’t see a traditional S-Class buyer ever buying this 7. This new 7 Series is edgy. Right from the time you lay your eyes on it, it screams ‘look at me’. The interiors are a refreshing take on what is otherwise a stagnant format. It might not be up everyone’s alley but the ones who bark up this alley, will want nothing else. And good on BMW for reaching into that space! ⌧