Next BMW 7 Series Gets Carbon Fiber Chassis, Remote Parking
German luxury automaker BMW is offering up a sneak peek at the next-generation 7 Series flagship luxury sedan and letting the world in on some of the more extraordinary features of the company’s next offering. Among the more interesting items: The chassis will feature a considerable amount of carbon fiber and will save up to 286 pounds of weight just from that change alone.
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The company plans to use the expertise it gained in the design and construction of the i3 city car to shave a considerable amount of weight off of its flagship sedan; given that the new 2016 Cadillac CT6 has thrown down the challenge of a car the size of a 7 Series but weighing less than a BMW 5 Series, this seems like a logical move on BMW’s part.
But that’s not all the new 7 Series will feature. BMW is updating its multimedia system as well, and intends to offer a touch-screen in the new car, allowing users to select items directly on the screen instead of being required to use the iDrive knob controller as in previous versions. The iDrive controller will still be there, but BMW will combine the touch-screen with a new 3-D gesture-recognition function as well, to give drivers more options in how to control everything from their smartphone to audio volume.
Yet the most remarkable feature on the new 7 Series may be the one best for showing off to your friends. Taking a page from James Bond’s 1997 BMW 750iL in the movie “Tomorrow Never Dies,” the next 7 Series will feature a remote-control option. Unlike the Bond car, you won’t be using it to fire rockets at bad guys in a parking garage while driving from the backseat — but you will be able to use it to park the car while nobody’s actually in it.
A fully autonomous feature will enable owners to park their 7 Series in an extremely tight space using the newly developed BMW Display Key. An owner will be able to direct the car to enter or exit a parking space fully autonomously, without anyone behind the wheel.
There’s no official word on when the next 7 Series will go on sale, but if the technology is this far along we’d guess it will get an official auto show unveiling later this year.
