The 2024 BMW i7 M70—electric luxury turned up to 11

Enlarge / The i7 M70 features new mirrors and side skirts to go with new suspension and brakes and a more powerful rear motor. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

LISBON, PORTUGAL—Driving BMW’s new electric 7 Series was one of the true automotive surprises of 2022. The automaker rolled out electric and combustion-tech versions at the same time, with the electric i7 bettering the gas-burning 760i in just about every way. Now, BMW has sent its biggest and boldest EV off to its M division, the in-house tuning and motorsport people. The resulting car is the fastest-accelerating and most expensive electric BMW to date.

I’ve long been an advocate for putting electric motors in luxury cars, especially big ones—the combination of instant torque and near-silence is ideal for that application. Automakers both new and established also like the idea of big, luxury EVs because they can charge plenty for the privilege, so it’s a crowded field. Some cars in this class target rollercoaster-like acceleration; for example, Porsche, Tesla, and Lucid will each sell you a four-door EV capable of a 0–60 time that’s around two seconds.

The i7 M70 is not as fast as those EVs, and it’s not the kind of luxury EV you might use to wipe the smiles off some faces at the local drag strip’s “run what ya brung” night. Instead, in keeping with BMW’s old “ultimate driving machine” slogan, it’s a rather engaging driver’s car, one that belies its size and mass remarkably well.