The most important car show of the year for BMW will open its doors this week. The BMW display at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show will be available for the press starting today.
BMW's main effort will be the new 7 Series. This is the model that defines BMW luxury and innovation, especially when it comes to materials and connectivity. With more use of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), BMW has kept down the weight of its biggest sedan. A wide array of powerplants will be available worldwide in the new 7, although the U.S. market will only see the three-liter inline six and the 4.4-liter V8.
Just listing some of the features on the new 7 Series makes us wish we could experience it in person. Things like the Executive Drive Pro active chassis system, the Driving Experience Control switch with Adaptive mode, BMW Laserlight, the Executive Lounge feature with massage function, the illuminated Sky Lounge Panorama glass roof, and a smartphone holder with inductive charging station.
Then there are the new operating system and driver assistance innovations, such as the iDrive system touch display and BMW gesture control, Touch Command for controlling comfort and infotainment functions in the back seat, Remote Control Parking, the latest generation BMW Head-Up Display, Crossing traffic warning, the Steering and lane control assistant, active side collision protection, and the Surround View system with 3D View and Panorama View. Interested yet?
Not content with one all-new model at Frankfurt, BMW will also be showcasing the second-generation of its smallest Sports Activity Vehicle, the BMW X1. With updated styling that more closely resembles its larger siblings, the X1 also has more passenger and cargo space. It will be powered by gasoline and diesel engines and will be available with xDrive, of course.
On display at Frankfurt will also be the new, life-cycle improvement (LCI version of the 3 Series. It is updated inside and out and will have a revised engine lineup comprising four gasoline and seven diesel choices at market launch. We here in the U.S. will not see all of those, but at least we will get a choice of three of the gasoline mills and one of the diesel. As hoped for and expected, the 3 Series is rear-wheel drive, unless you opt for an xDrive all-wheel drive model.
If you really want to drive on the wild side, wait for the BMW 330e plug-in hybrid sedan.
The 2 Series Active Tourer will also get a plug-in hybrid version that will be in the BMW display stand at Frankfurt, but we do not expect to see it brought to the U.S. market.
That makes four new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that BMW will present at Frankfurt: The BMW 740e, the BMW 330e, the BMW 225xe, and the BMW X5 xDrive40e. That also makes four different—and very diverse—market segments that BMW is covering with its eDrive technology.
If you didn’t know that BMW Motorsport makes almost ready-to-race racecars for customers, it does. The latest and greatest is the BMW M6 GT3. Built primarily for endurance racing, the special M6 Coupe has a slightly modified M TwinPower Turbo V8 engine and an “aerodynamically optimized” chassis. Thanks to lots of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, the car weighs less than 2,900 pounds.
The BMW M6 GT3 is not the only cool M6 offering at Frankfurt. For high-horsepower street car enthusiasts, BMW M GmbH will present the new BMW M6 Competition Edition—a more individual version of the top-of-the-line coupe that can be had with a choice of special paint finishes, CFRP components, exclusive leather upholstery, and of course, the Competition Package for performance. With a 4.4-liter M TwinPower Turbo V8 putting out 600 horsepower, and 516 pound-feet of torque, the car will reach a top speed of 190 miles per hour; if the owner also springs for the optional Driver’s Package, that is.
BMW Laserlight headlights, introduced last year on the BMW i8, will be seen at Frankfurt for the first time on the new BMW 7 Series. These lights, which feature an anti-dazzle High Beam Assistant, triple the car’s lighting range compared to previous headlight systems.
When it comes to connectivity, BMW takes a back seat to no one—even if it means allowing passengers in the back seat to be connected. Driver assistance and applications that enhance comfort and safety will be abundant and obvious at the Frankfurt show. These will include the new BMW ConnectedDrive App, the BMW Remote Cockpit, the super-fast WiFi hotspot, automatic navigation map updates, and smart home integration, as well as Remote Control Parking and other sophisticated driver assistance systems we will be seeing for the first time in the new BMW 7 Series.
We expect BMW to show off it’s i brand, with the award-winning i3 and i8, but the company will also be giving the public an eyeful of its related sustainable mobility products and services. The DriveNow premium car-sharing service features BMW i3s in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark. Also on display will be BMWs line of home and public electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid charging solutions, including the BMW i Light and Charge—a charging station that doubles as an energy-efficient smart LED street light.
BMW i technology will be on stage in other areas of the BMW stand, but you won’t see it unless you know where to look. Like the carbon-fiber components of the new 7 Series passenger cell, or the hybrid powertrain of the 740Le, X5 40e, 330e, and 228xe. As promised, BMW is starting to use lightweight construction materials and techniques, alternate mobility systems, and intelligent energy management it pioneered in its i cars throughout its entire model range.
That’s what we expect from BMW at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Look for more details from our on-site reporters in an upcoming issue of Roundel magazine.
By the way, the original German Oktoberfest in Munich starts on September 19th, four days after the Frankfurt show opens to the press. If you can’t make it to the Munich Oktoberfest, there’s still time to register for the BMW Car Club of America’s annual Oktoberfest, which starts two days later on September 21st in Absecon, New Jersey. We’ll have beer, too.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
