Safety first
On the hunt for a new top sedan with or without an electric powertrain? Then the BMW 7 series and the electric i7 seem like a safe choice. In a literal sense. The pair is now there for the first time as Protection.
Do you have obscure business relationships, are you a high-ranking bad boy, do you often feel threatened and have you also done well financially? Then the BMW 7-series Protection and the BMW i7 Protection might be the cars for you. The name of the models already indicates it: these are armored versions that are stuffed with special extras.
The extra-safe pair, according to BMW, is built around what it calls the Protection Core, an armored steel-made base that it combines with a body that is also made of armored steel. So also the roof. The underside? Indeed, covered in armor. The glass all around? You guessed it: that too can take a beating. Both the 7 Series Protection and i7 Protection comply with armor class VR9. This means, among other things, that both the carriage and the glass of this mobile safe must be resistant to an attack with a machine gun. An explosion of 15 kilos of TNT within a distance of 2 meters from the car should also not be a problem. The 7-series Protection has a petrol tank that closes itself depending on the leak that has been shot into it.
From the outside, the Protection pair can hardly be distinguished from 7-series or i7s with M Sport package. We see, among other things, a partially closed rear side window. In addition, according to BMW, they also lose a lot less space inside compared to the Protection versions of the previous 7 series. The weight increase should also be smaller, although BMW does not say what the duo actually weighs. The extra safe BMWs can optionally be equipped with an oxygen supply system, a fire extinguisher, special lighting, radio equipment and attachment points for flags on the front. The opening and closing of the doors is supported by a motor that provides assistance. They are certainly not light.
The electric i7 Protection has the powertrain of the 544 hp xDrive60 and thus reaches a speed of 100 km / h in 9 seconds. Its top speed: 160 km/h. With that powertrain, the original only needs 4.7 seconds to reach 100 km / h and reaches a top speed of 240 km / h. The 7-series Protection has a mild hybrid 4.4 V8 that generates 530 hp and with which it reaches 100 km / h in 6.6 seconds. Top speed: 210 km/h.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl