BMW is preparing to launch five versions of the 7 Series LCI here, as early as June

UPDATE: We’ve driven the 2019 BMW 7 Series. Click here for our review!

SINGAPORE — If you want a new BMW 7 Series you’ll probably want to wait for the facelifted version, especially since you won’t have to wait long.

The 7 Series LCI (for “life cycle impulse”) is due in Singapore in the third quarter of the year, and could go on sale here as early as June.

You’ll have five versions of the new 7 to choose from, which a price range that kicks off at just over S$400,000 (with Certificate Of Entitlement) and rises to around S$600,000.

The base model will be the 730Li in Pure Excellence trim. That car has a carryover powerplant, meaning it retains a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine tuned for 265 horsepower that drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic. It’s the slowest 7 Series but isn’t slow, galloping to 100m/h in 6.3 seconds.

We’ve covered the big-grilled new 7 Series in detail here

If you’re among the purists who believe that a proper 7 Series should have at least six cylinders (and you’ll be in the company of more than one BMW engineer or product planner we spoke to), then you’ll have to stump up for the 740Li Pure Excellence, which we reckon will cost around S$470,000.

That’s also identical to the predecessor in terms of what’s under the bonnet: a silky 3.0-litre turbo in-line six with a marvellous cantabile. With 340hp, the 740Li has the legs to hit 100km/h in just 5.6 seconds.

Both the Pure Excellence cars are sumptuously equipped. They come with many of the “wellness” elements that defined the current 7 Series, such as a fragrance package and massage chairs up front. They both have four-zone climate control, sun blinds for the rear windows and rear windscreen, soft Nappa Leather, reclining rear chairs and so on.

Air suspension is standard on every 7 Series, and so is rear wheel steering, which helps to increase the cars’ agility at low speed and make it more stable on the highway.

As you’d expect, the 740Li gets more kit than the 730Li — 20-inch wheels (instead of 19), a panoramic glass roof, black interior wood trim and BMW’s Laserlight headlamps, which can slice your enemies in two with an intense beam of focused light. Well, maybe not, but they turn night into day when the high beam is used, and besides, they come with blue design elements so people will know if you have them, which is what really, really matters.

As long as you’re at this sort of money, however, you might as well think hard about the Pure Excellence Visionary package for your 740Li. 

That takes the price to S$500,000 or so, but is the spec for ostentation. It comes with a different wheel design and the “Sky Lounge” version of the glass roof (above), along with quilted upholstery in Mocha or Cognac. The dashboard is covered in leather, too.

The Visionary model also comes with ventilated seats front and rear, a massage function for the rear seats, as well as a pair of 10-inch touchscreens for the entertainment of rear passengers.

Those are mounted firmly in place, but there’s a wee 7-inch removable tablet, also known as the Touch Command system. It can be used to play audio or video files, but is more for occupants to fiddle with seat adjustment, interior lighting and climate control, or operate the infotainment, navigation and communication systems.

The 730Li and 740Li will be the off-the-shelf offerings, but there are two other 7s available on special order.

The 745Le xDrive plug-in hybrid should cost around S$500,000 if you indent one, and it’s probably the most updated 7 Series model of all: it discards the four-cylinder engine of the 740Le in favour of a six-cylinder, and its hybrid drivetrain has a higher-capacity battery that gives it a higher motor-only top speed in hybrid mode (110km/h instead of 90km/h), and a longer range — up to 58km in perfect conditions, but probably around 35km in our start-stop heavy, sweltering city.

It may be the 7 for eco warriors, but the 745Le xDrive is perfectly suited to the “warrior” side of things. With 394hp and as much as 600 Newton-metres of torque on tap, it stomps to 100km/h in just 5.1 seconds.

But true performance junkies really only have one new 7 to consider, and that’s the M760Li xDrive. The V12 engined, 609hp monster scorches the tarmac to hit 100km/h in 3.8 seconds. You can order one for around S$600,000, and if that seems like a lot to pay, it’s worth asking if it’s possible to get more car than this for the money.

Here’s what we thought of the last M760Li.

We’ve tested the new 7 Series! Click here to read what we think