Following its world premiere earlier this year at Auto Shanghai, the BMW i7 M70 celebrated its European public debut this past weekend at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Much like the showcar exhibited in China, the first-ever electric M Performance version of the 7 Series was displayed with a fancy two-tone paint. It combined the Individual Liquid Copper metallic color for the bottom half of the car with Sapphire Black for the upper section.
Look closer and you’ll notice the two contrasting colors are separated by a discreetly applied coachline à la Rolls-Royce. If this finish doesn’t tickle your fancy, the i7 M70 is offered in more than 100 Individual colors, including eight two-tone options as well as matte (Frozen) paints using made from biomass instead of crude oil. BMW chose to show off the sporty zero-emission 7er with 21-inch wheels (909 M style) featuring a bi-color finish.
The i7 M70 is not the only M Performance version offered for the G70 since BMW is also selling an M760e as a plug-in hybrid with an inline-six. However, this pure EV is the quickest of the bunch by doing 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 3.7 seconds. It’s able to achieve that – despite its massive size and heft – courtesy of dual motors providing a massive combined torque of 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) provided launch control is turned on. If not, you “only” get 1,015 Nm (748 lb-ft).
With a total of 660 horsepower, the i7 M70 is the most potent 7 Series ever, easily eclipsing the M760i before it. That said, the V12 engine will certainly be missed by BMW fans, especially since Mercedes still sells the Maybach S-Class with twelve cylinders. You can still get a V12 from the BMW Group by stepping up to a Rolls-Royce Ghost, although the price difference is colossal. By the way, ALPINA will bridge the gap between the fanciest BMWs and the entry-level Rolls-Royce, provided there is such a thing.
The i7 M70 can get extremely expensive if you spend too much time playing with the configurator. The German one can be maxed out to €230,000 while the US version hits the $200,000 mark.
