F01 BMW 7 Series facelift unveiled

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With all of this product line expansion BMW is going through, it’s easy to get lost in the entirety of new models and ideas that turn up.

Thankfully though, the top of the line model remains the same. You can always trust the BMW 7 Series to remain a constant beacon of luxury and driving pleasure.

Even when BMW facelift it, it doesn’t seem to change that much. The F01′s newest look has just been announced, alongside some technical upgrades as well.

Most of the changes focus on the front end where there’s a redesigned bumper, new fog lamps and new headlights. Round at the back we find some minor changes in the lights as well and there’s that little bit more chrome involved..

Considering we’ve had enough of interior changes, BMW have given the 7 Series facelift a few tweaks to the interior that are equally minor.

You can now get the multiple mode instrument cluster we recently saw on the F10 5 Series and the infotainment system gets some tasty new options.

Rear passengers get two 9.2 inch screens and there’s an optional Bang & Olufsen audio system which can pump out a whopping 1200 watts of tunes.

That’s about all that’s different in an obvious form. Underneath however all models of the F01 BMW 7 Series get air suspension with self leveling rear. Could it be the same astonishing setup from the Rolls Royce Ghost?

More important then all these changes is the fuel economy bit. Whereas the fun V8 and V12 engines remain basically unchanged (the V8 has some extra power), the diesel and hybrid have different stories.

The 750d was introduced to the lineup and it’s powered by the 3.0 liter tri-turbo diesel with 381 horsepower and 546 lb-ft of torque.

That engine, complete with xDrive four wheel drive, is claimed to manage 36.8 mpg on the US cycle. It’ll also hit 62 in 4.9 seconds and happily cruise at 155 mph.

With the ActiveHybrid BMW 7 Series we find the only trace of winding back on behalf of the Bavarians. They’ve replaced the V8 part with the 3.0 liter straight six twin-turbo.

That gives the hybrid F01 354 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque to play with. It’s marginally slower than the V8 unit in getting to 62 but is considerably more efficient and BMW promises 34.6 mpg US.