BMW says it is ‘entering the final phase’ of development for its new i7, said to be the world’s only purely electrically powered luxury sedan. The i7 will be ready for release next year after it has undergone a series of what BMW describe as ‘gruelling’ tests in extreme road and weather conditions over gravel tracks and in deserts, across mountains and on a whole series of exciting all over the world.
BMW report that, during so-called ‘hot-region testing’ on tracks and public roads all over the world, its development engineers primarily verify the performance and reliability of the electric motors, the all-wheel drive and the high-voltage battery when being exposed to maximum stress from high temperatures, unpaved roads, dust and large differences in altitude.
The testing programme covers tens of thousands of kilometres, includes long-distance and high-speed driving as well as stop-and-go traffic in scorching heat. In addition, test sections with particularly large differences in altitude were selected at the hot-region test sites.
This is what it takes to get the new BMW even close to being unleashed on the public.