BMW 740i News

BMW Group Australia has slashed pricing for its 7 Series sedan, with reductions of up to $49,629 across the range.Due to dealer and customer feedback, the flagship limo falls under the $200,000 bracket, putting it more reasonably in contention with the Audi A8 and Lexus LS which are priced at $192,00 and $190,129 respectively.Specifically, the entry-level 730d starts at $195,900 plus on-road costs, and the 740e and 740i are both priced at $198,900.This translates to a $31,000 price drop for the three lower variants.The bigger 750i is $28,629 less expensive at $269,900, however the 740Li and 750Li are up $13,000 and $5190 respectively, commanding a $30,000 premium over their short-wheelbase siblings.Continuing to top the range, the 448kW/800Nm 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 M760Li has undergone the biggest price slash, now $49,629 cheaper at $374,900.The decision to lower the sticker prices for the 7 Series was in response to dealer and customer feedback, according to BMW Group Australia product communications manager Adam Davis."As ever, during a product's model cycle we remain responsive to dealer and customer feedback and look to manage vehicle specification and pricing position accordingly," he said.2018 BMW 7 Series list pricingBMW 730d – automatic – $195,900 BMW 740e – automatic – $198,900 BMW 740i – automatic – $198,900 BMW 740Li – automatic – $228,900 BMW 750i – automatic – $269,900 BMW 750Li – automatic – $294,900 BMW M760Li – automatic – $374,900 

BMW has announced the price of a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship 7 Series limousine due to touch down in Australia towards the end of this year.The 740e will arrive wearing a $229,000 price tag, a $4800 premium over the petrol powered 740i (regular wheelbase) that it’s based on. This places the 740e in the middle of the Australian 7 Series line-up which kicks off at $217,500 and currently tops out at $312,700 foir the 750Li.When it arrives the 740e will be the third BMW iPerformance model to come to Australia with the 330e sedan and X5 xDrive40e SUV launching earlier this year.The 740e is powered by a 190kW/400Nm 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo petrol engine and a 83kW/250Nm electric motor with a combined output of 240kW. Performance will be impressive with its claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.4 seconds, 0.3 seconds quicker than the 740i.An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts the gears with the average fuel consumption coming in at just 2.2L/100km.As with the other iPerformance models the 740e has three hybrid modes: Max eDrive for electric-only driving; Auto eDrive which combines the engine and motor; and Battery Control which uses the engine only and charges the battery through braking.BMW says the 740e can travel 48km purely on electricity.The 740e shares the same standard features as the 740i. This includes 19-inch alloy wheels, 16-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, leather upholstery, sat van, reversing camera, auto parking, proximity unlocking, adaptive air suspension, M Sport package, heated and ventilated seats, and head-up display.As with the 740i, the 740e also comes standard with the Driving Assistant Plus package which brings some great advanced safety equipment such as AEB, active cruise control, lane-keeping function and rear cross traffic alert.The 740e will take on Mercedes-Benz’s S500e petrol electric plug-in hybrid which arrived in July, which sits above the C350e sedan and GLE 500e SUV plug-in hybrids. 

There is so much convenience in today’s basic cars, even something like a Kia Cerato, that the top-end brands are changing their approach to luxury.

At first glance BMW’s yet-to-launch luxury flagship is about as relevant to the average CarsGuide reader as haute couture.Yet just as bespoke fashion finds its way into mainstream outlets, so will the technology infused in the big limousine filter down to more affordable models.And the sheer number and extent of the computer-controlled systems is staggering. In a segment where owners now expect to awe their audiences with more than a serene ride, it’s a case of innovate or be irrelevant.BMW’s 7 Series product guru Sven Arens says the 7-Series combines futuristic functions with craftsmanship and materials borrowed from Rolls-Royce, which BMW owns.CarsGuide looks at some of the key features found in the sixth-generation 7 Series.Gesture control: BMW is the first carmaker to fit a production model with gesture controls based on specific movements. A camera monitors an area in the centre of the dash and finger swirls can raise or lower the volume of the 16-speaker Bowers and Remote parking: Operated using the display key with an integrated screen, the idea is the occupants can exit the vehicle before it drives in or out of a tight parking space.Carbon core: Adopted from the i Series vehicles, the carbon-fibre reinforced plastic has helped trim 120kg from the 7 Series. Arens says bonding car components is better than welding because the weld softens the metal around the joint.Wireless connectivity: The 7 Series can now wirelessly charge smartphones using an inductive pad while Bluetooth pairing uses near-field communication — the same tech used with “pay wave” credit card purchases.Removable tablet: Rear-seat passengers can use a seven-inch tablet to control everything from the aircon to the seats. The Android-powered device can be taken out of the car to load up a movie and various apps can be installed.Occupant wellness: The big BMW can emit occasional bursts of scent, the seats incorporate a vitality program that extends the massage function and “allows rear passengers to engage in active physical exercise for recuperation purposes”. The The cars will launch in Australia late this year in 730d, 740i and 740Li models, with the top-spec 750i/Li due early next year. Pricing has yet to be set but the current model starts at $206,200 for the 730d.

The Remote Control Parking function lets drivers exit the vehicle and use the key fob with a colour LED screen to direct the car to drive into or out of a tight parking slot or garage.The logic is such a feature avoids the difficulty of the driver parking and then trying to open the doors with little room to manoeuvre.BMW Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says there's every chance the feature will make an appearance on local cars in the near future."There are some steps we have to go through to comply with Australian laws and we're working on that now," she says.The sixth-generation 7 Series still has plenty of other techno-wizardry. It has gesture recognition for audio volume controls and accepting or rejecting an incoming phone call, an inductive pad to recharge smartphones wirelessly, a touchscreen mounted on the top of the iDrive rotary controller and a bigger, brighter head-up display.There's also a new adaptive mode in the so-called Driving Experience Control settings to adjust the vehicle's transmission and throttle responses, according to the driver's inputs and the nature of the route as determined by GPS mapping and forward facing cameras.Weight has been trimmed by up to 130kg relative to the current car with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic first used on the BMW i3 and i8.

The Prime Minister's flagship fleet of high-security Holden limos is expected to be replaced with bomb and gas proof BMWs after Government sources claimed Holden had failed to bid for a lucrative $4 million plus contract to replace the ageing convoy of armoured cars.And a further armada of 20 German built cars will need to be leased for the G20 Summit in Brisbane next year - at a cost of $2 million - with foreign leaders prevented from using the Holden Caprice as it didn't meet their standards to protect against terrorist attacks.Government sources last night claimed that Holden had not submitted a bid for a new construction contract to replace the existing eight-year-old fleet of nine armour-plated Caprices - including the PM's own car "C1".Holden shutdown decision could come by Christmas. Carsguide understands that only four bids were entered, including Audi and Mercedes. The only options of a semi-local built car was believed to be a newer version of the retrofitted Holden Caprice offered by British Aerospace at a cost of $800,000 each, or a "ground up" model based on a Holden chassis, which cost $1.2 million for just one vehicle.However, neither option is believed to have been able to meet international standards for protection against attacks. The Federal Government is now expected to sign a contract to buy cheaper, off-the shelf BMW High Security 7 Series vehicles, at a cost of $525,000 each, which meet higher international standards of protection against ballistic and gas attacks - and which can be serviced in Australia.It has an existing contract through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with BMW for high security cars. The BMW option would save the government more than $3 million. They would also be available for the 20 strong fleet of security cars required for the G20, saving the Government a further $1 million.Holden last night denied it had declined to bid for the tender, claiming it had partnered with the two aftermarket companies in bids to supply armoured plated cars. "We have partnered with two bids from armoured plated companies," a spokesman for Holden said. "Holden is involved in two bids for this work and we would love to see the PM in a Caprice, and we have obviously provided caprice for this purpose before."But departmental sources disputed the claim and said Holden had "shown no interest" when made aware the tender was being let.The imminent loss of Holden as the PM's official car was revealed as the brand's parent company in Detroit, General Motors, came under pressure to reveal whether it planned to close its operations in Australia by 2016.Yesterday thousands of Holden workers were left hanging over Christmas to find out whether they would still have a job with Holden boss Mike Devereux refusing to confirm whether it would continue to make cars in Australia.Labor has accused the government of trying to kill the Australian car industry by cutting assistance by $500 million and has urged the Government to restore assistance to Holden to protect thousands of jobs.But Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss yesterday wrote to the company requesting that it reveal its intentions and reminding it that the Government had already committed a further $1 billion to the industry until 2020."An immediate clarification of GM Holden's future plans is needed to end the uncertainty for Holden's workforce, its suppliers and the people of Australia," Mr Truss said.A senior government source yesterday confirmed that Holden "was not interested" in bidding for the government security cars with the contract likely to be awarded to BMW - which once made engines for the Nazi war machine - over the coming days.The AFP is already using BMW X5s for security support vehicles for the PM claiming there was nothing in Australia built to specifications required for protection. The Government will need a total of 20 armoured BMW, Mercedez or Audis for the G20 meeting next year. It could save $1 million in lease fees by sourcing 9 of the vehicles from a new Government fleet of BMWs.Read more here: www.dailytelegraph.com.au 

...but testing has begun with early prototypes of the car that will eventually run up against the all-new Mercedes-Benz S Class that launches this year.This prototype steals body parts from the existing Seven but everything under the skin should be new and more eco-friendly.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

BMW is preparing its 7 Series response. The bodywork is smoothly newer for 2014 but it's the hidden technology that will make the difference.This journalist is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

There are only tiny changes to the body with new bumpers, LED headlights  and tail lights, but an eight- speed ZF automatic and an updated instrument panel in the mix.

Visually, the BMW headlamps get a tweak and there are new bumpers, as well as signature kidney grilles that are slightly more prominent in line with the latest 1 Series and 3 Series cars.