Designed for motorists with tenacious enemies, the BMW 7 Sequence Safety was developed in-house with a protracted checklist of add-ons that enables it to resist photographs from armor-piecing bullets. It appears to be like nearly precisely just like the regular-production sedan, and it is simply as luxurious inside.
BMW notes that the armored Safety mannequin was within the pipeline from the very starting of the brand new 7’s growth course of; the variant wasn’t added to the vary as an afterthought. Particulars concerning the transformation are understandably few and much between, as understanding precisely which supplies have been added to which a part of the automobile would make life an entire lot simpler for anybody attempting to shoot the occupants.
What we all know is that the Safety is constructed round an armored metal construction. It then receives security glass and extra armored panels to guard the underbody; BMW designed the underbody and the roof to resist assaults carried out with explosives. The sedan earned a VR9 safety score, so it is able to stopping 7.62mm armor-piercing bullets (the sort fired by the M60 machine gun, for instance).
This is not “Mad Max”; BMW cannot merely weld thick metal plates to a run-of-the-mill 7 Sequence and name it a day. It additionally added a self-sealing gasoline tank, made a number of adjustments to the chassis, and fitted 20-inch wheels wrapped by run-flat tires designed particularly for armored vehicles. And, whereas the Safety comes with quite a few driving aids, they supply the driving force warnings somewhat than stepping in to regulate the sedan.
Of us who want an armored BMW to commute in probably do not need to draw consideration to themselves, so BMW went to nice lengths to make sure the Safety appears to be like as very like a regular-production 7 Sequence as attainable. Alternatively, it may be decked out with lights within the grille, within the door mirror caps, and on the parcel shelf in addition to flag poles on the fenders. Inside, it is the entire luxurious you count on from a 7 Sequence: You will discover a 1,265-watt Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound system with 28 audio system, motorized doorways, and power-operated rear sunshades.
Highlights from the prolonged checklist of choices embody a show that reveals the footage captured by the rear-view digicam whatever the automobile’s velocity or path, a microphone built-in into the middle console that lets the passengers talk with individuals exterior the automobile with out opening the doorways or the home windows, a fresh-air provide system, and a fireplace extinguisher. BMW may even practice your chauffeur for you.
Energy for the 7 Sequence Safety comes from a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that works with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system to develop 530 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. Alternatively, the electrical i7 is accessible in Safety specification as nicely, although we think about the burden added by the armor has a less-than-ideal impact on vary — particularly in the event you’re attempting to get away from somebody who’s offended and closely armed. For context, the i7 Safety takes 9 seconds flat to achieve 62 mph from a cease, whereas the i7 will get there in 3.7 seconds.
BMW will current the 7 Sequence Safety on the 2023 Munich auto present. Deliveries are scheduled to start out in December 2023.
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