BMW’s new electric 7 series luxury sedan will start at $120,295

The i7 xDrive60 is a new electric 7 series car. The EV will have an estimated range of up to 300 miles and a starting price of $120,000. Interested car buyers can pre-order the i7 starting today and deliveries are expected to start later this year.

BMW is hoping the i7 will become a segment leader in the luxury electric sedan space, with features like an 8K theater screen for rear passengers. The 7 series has been the ultimate expression of luxury for the brand. BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz to become the best-selling luxury brand in the US, but it was not by a long shot.

The i7 can compete in performance and battery range, but not in battery performance. The i7 xDrive60 will sprint from 0 to 60mph in 4.5 seconds with a combined output of

The vehicle's battery provides 101.7kWh of usable energy, but the combined power consumption is lower than previously advertised. The most powerful car in the world, the Model S, has a 100kWh battery, while Mercedes-Benz's flagship EQS sedan has one with 107.8kWh of capacity.

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• DANIEL KRAUS
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BMW won't use rare earth materials to power the i7's two motor. The principle of metered electrical energy is what BMW describes as the principle of a current-energized synchronous machine.

Most electric motors are powered by permanent magnets, sometimes no larger than a pack of playing cards, made of rare earth metals. The magnets allow the electricity to be converted into motion. Most of the rare earth magnets are mined and processed in China.

BMW says it can achieve a higher energy density, especially in the rear motor, by using current-energized synchronous machine principles, which allows it to achieve levels of performance it expects out of its 7 series vehicles.

The design is unmistakably BMW, right down to the huge, unnecessary grille in the front. The grille of the i7 has been completely reinvented to achieve a modern and distinct look.

The company has been subjected to a lot of harsh criticism on social media for its ever-expanding take on the classic kidney grille. Don Smith, product manager for BMW, said that it makes no sense to have an open grille, but the automaker's customers want it to look.

There is more crystal inside the i7, including on the dashboard and center console. The theater screen is the real draw, it turns the sedan into a cinema-on-wheels. The screen moves out of the roof liner and is only for rear passengers. The i7 will have a Sky Lounge panoramic glass roof. It will be interesting to see how this interacts with the theater screen.

The driver can see a curved display behind the steering wheel. This involves merging the 12.3-inch instrument cluster and the central 14.9-inch infotainment screen into a single unit. With the latest version of BMW's iDrive operating software, the curved display will have the appearance of floating above the dashboard, which is quickly becoming a common feature in luxury automobiles.

The goal of achieving 50 percent of the company's sales by the year 2030. The company is working on an all-electric version of its 5 Series. The production iX3 is an all-electric version of the top-selling X3 SUV and will only be available in Europe and China. The BMW i4 sedan and iX SUV will be delivered in the US later this year.

Almost all of the German luxury automaker's most popular cars will soon be all-electric. A fully electric version of the 3 Series, BMW's most popular car in the US, has already been spotted in testing. The i3 was discontinued last year.