BMW gave the facelifted i7 M70 xDrive 15 more kilowatts. Then it got slower.
Output climbs from 485 kW (650 hp) to 500 kW (671 hp), yet the 0-62 mph sprint slips from 3.7 seconds to 3.8. Top speed stays capped at 155 mph.
The flagship electric 7 Series now costs £164,420 on the road in the UK. The launch car BMW UK picked to show it off wears paint that costs more than some used hatchbacks.
The spec sheet shows where Munich spent its effort, and it wasn’t on the stopwatch.
Torque is unchanged. The M70 still makes 1,015 Nm (749 lb-ft) in Sport mode and 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) with Launch Control or M Sport Boost engaged. BMW UK quotes 680 hp because it uses the PS figure, a reminder that horsepower is partly a marketing call.
The real work happened under the floor. Gen6 cells push net battery capacity from 101.7 kWh to 112.5 kWh. Peak DC charging rises from 195 kW to 250 kW, enough for a 10 to 80 percent top-up in 28 minutes.
WLTP range now sits between 373 and 426 miles. A heavier pack and a fractionally slower launch is a trade few owners of a £160,000 limousine will ever feel from the back seat.
The face changes too. The kidney grille is slimmer and more upright, the split headlights are redesigned, and Neue Klasse-style creases run across the bonnet.
The taillights grow longer. The M70 also gets its own mirror design.
Then there’s the paint, which is where this car’s pricing logic really lives.
The UK launch car wears BMW Individual Two-Tone: Vancouver Green Metallic below a thin decorative line, Black Sapphire Metallic above it. Both are gloss. It’s easy to confuse with Dual-Finish, the pricier option introduced with this facelift.
Dual-Finish pairs a matte Frozen lower body with a gloss metallic upper half. BMW says each car spends more than 75 hours in the Dingolfing paint shop. In Germany it costs €14,000, which is €2,000 more than Two-Tone.
UK buyers who want the matte look with a black top will have to wait. BMW UK lists Dual-Finish Frozen Black with Black Sapphire from March 2027.
Vancouver Green is new, carries paint code C84 and is reserved for now for the 7 Series and the new X5. Most of BMW’s European marketing pairs it with a Space Silver roof. BMW UK went with black and calls the upper colour Sapphire Black, so that’s the name to look for in the configurator.
In June, BMW UK listed two-tone finishes at up to £12,300. On the pre-facelift car, the figure was £11,550.
The paint went up £750. The acceleration went the other way.
Even that sum looks small next to the spread inside the i7 range. The M70 costs £44,085 more than the £120,335 i7 60 xDrive. The i7 50 xDrive starts at £104,230.
That puts £60,190 between the entry i7 and the M70. It’s the price of a well-specified family car, spent on badges, output and a tenth of a second the M70 no longer has.
The electric i7 range reached UK showrooms in September. The 750e xDrive and M760e xDrive plug-in hybrids join it this month, and the matte paint UK buyers want is still four months away.
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