BMW India has three big launches for the year 2013. The first was the facelifted X1 which took place a short while ago. The next is the facelift for the 7 Series, and the last is the 1 Series.
The 7 Series facelift is expected to arrive in India during the first half of this year. We got to see the real deal at the Geneva Motor Show, but with a twist. The 7 Series LCI brought to Geneva was in the 'Individual' trim with many expensive optional extras from BMW's in-house customization arm. Here's the complete lowdown on the customization options as explained to us by a BMW representative -
What we see here is the BMW 750i xDrive with BMW Individual paint work. Its got a brown leather interior from BMW Individual which is naturally treated so that it is breathing a lot more than normal leather. We see an Alcantara roof line matching with the colour of the seat leather. The car sits on BMW Individual 20-inch wheels.
It has a M steering wheel and BMW Individual leather upholstery which is an option. The BMW Individual Piano Black trim is another option for the cabin. Ceramic details are present on the gear lever, on the iDrive knob and the dials for the radio and air conditioning. The paint work is a black metallic with blue particulates from BMW Individual. It costs 182,590 CHF (1.04 crore rupees) with all the options.
What's the regular BMW 7 Series facelift like?
BMW would rather you call it the 7 Series LCI (Life Cycle Impulse). The changes to the car are very minimalistic. Outside, the refreshed 7 sports new all-LED headlamp assembly, a new kidney grille, reshaped bumper apron and indicators integrated into the external mirror housings.
At the rear, a chrome trim strip is integrated near the tail lamps and it is also to be noted that the incoming model is about 8mm lower than the previous car in ground clearance (whether this would be the case for the Indian spec version is not yet known).
Inside the car, redesigned leather seats, a new iDrive hardware and individual screens for rear passengers that are 9.2-inches wide greet you. As said before, the changes are subtle and minimalistic.
As far as engine options go, the Indian version is bound to have the diesel for sure. That would be in the 730 Ld guise. The sweet 3.0-liter 6 cylinder TwinTurbo diesel producing more power at 375 bhp (up from 333bhp) and an enormous 750Nm of torque will be in charge of moving the flagship luxury sedan.
While BMW are going to be assembling the 7 Series at their Chennai facility, our sources confirm that BMW has started the process already. It is only a matter of time now before we see the updated model hit showroom floors in India as well.
