2016 BMW 7 Series spotted in India for the first time, Auto Expo debut - Spied
Will be available only in the LWB specification.
An Indian Autos Blog reader snapped the 2016 BMW 7 Series on Indian soil, ahead of its local debut at the Auto Expo 2016. Revealed in June this year, the sixth generation 7 Series is yet to go on sale in any market, and will have its public premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
Based on an all-new rear-wheel drive CLAR (Cluster Architecture) platform, the 'G11/G12' 7 Series uses industrially made CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced plastic) and weighs 130 kg lighter than its predecessor.
For the Indian market, BMW India plans on launching a petrol and a diesel variant of the new 7-er, but in the long wheelbase version only. The petrol 750 Li derives power from a 4.4-liter V8 TwinPower Turbo to deliver 444 hp, while the diesel 730 Ld makes use of an all-new B57 3.0-liter six-cylinder to produce 265 hp. Both engines will be paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels; the xDrive AWD variant will not be available in India.
Also read: 2017 BMW 5 Series (G30) to make its debut in late 2016 – Spied
While the current 7 Series is assembled at BMW India's Chennai plant, it remains to be seen if assembly of the new model takes place right from the start, or if early models arrive through the CBU channel.