BMWi70

2024 BMW i7 M70 performance electric car unveiled, priced for Australia16 imagesPhotoIcon PreviousNext UPDATE, 18 April 2023: BMW Australia has confirmed local pricing for the 2024 BMW i7 M70 xDrive, announcing the performance electric car will start from $344,900 plus on-road costs. Due in BMW's Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December inclusive), the i7 M70 xDrive is $38,000 more expensive than the i7 xDrive 60 and $72,000 more than the petrol-powered 740i. The BMW i7 M70 xDrive is also set to become BMW’s third-most expensive new car on sale in Australia – behind the M8 Competition sedan ($371,400) and coupe ($374,400) – based on current pricing. Our original story has been amended to include Australian pricing and features. 17 April 2023: The 2024 BMW i7 M70 xDrive has been unveiled ahead of the Shanghai motor show, as the company's most powerful electric model to date – and the fastest version of its new i7 limousine. Expected to reach Australia in the second half of 2023 (though exact timing is yet to be locked in), the flagship i7 arrives with a newly-developed dual-motor drivetrain offering a combined 485kW – some 30kW more than the similar system used by the iX M60 electric SUV launched in 2022. At the heart of the latest electric BMW M Performance model is a front electric motor with up to 190kW and a newly-developed rear electric motor with 360kW. The latter is claimed to deliver a new BMW record for an electric motor's power-to-weight ratio, at 2.41kW per kg. Developments adopted on the new electric motor include a patented six-coil design within the stator. MORE: Read our full 2023 Shanghai motorAll up, the two electric motors provide the i7 M70 xDrive with a combined torque output of 1015Nm, with up to 1100Nm available for short periods of full-throttle acceleration when the new model's M Launch Control and M Sport Boost functions are activated. By comparison, the electric drivetrain used by the standard i7 xDrive 60 on sale now in Australia develops 400kW and 745Nm. It also compares to the nominal 484kW and 950Nm of the Mercedes-AMG EQS53 4Matic+, although with an optional AMG Dynamic Plus system, the i7 M60 xDrive's closest rival ups its reserves to 560kW and 1020Nm.