Amer Malas 
It’s been nearly a year since BMW announced the i7, its first fully electric 7 Series. Since then, it’s steadily made its way to customers, and we’ve even reviewed it twice. Despite being the brand’s first fully electric flagship sedan, the standard i7 punches well above its weight, drawing justified Rolls-Royce comparisons. However, as good as the xDrive60 is, it was never meant to be the model’s flagship. That title belongs to the 2024 BMW i7 M70 xDrive that debuted today during the Shanghai international motor show.
As the M in its name suggests, the M70 isn’t positioned as an ultra-luxurious variant of the new 7. Instead, it’s focused squarely on performance, with a 650 horsepower output, a sprint to 60 mph of 3.5 seconds, and an EPA-estimated 295 miles of range. BMW claims the M70 is its most powerful all-electric car ever, and while they have yet to release pricing info, we’d be willing to bet that it’ll be its most expensive too.
Visually, the 2024 BMW i7 M70 xDrive only brings minor changes. These include trim-specific side skirts, darkened Shadowline trim, a unique set of M mirrors, and a larger rear diffuser. Option the M Performance Professional option, and you’ll get a small rear lip spoiler, a black accent trim piece between its tail lights, and gloss black trim surrounding its illuminated kidney grille.
It’ll be easier to distinguish the M70 from the xDrive60 that preceded it by looking at its paint job. This new model adds new two-tone paint options to the 7’s extensive catalog and trim-specific matte-finish options. In total, BMW offers over 100 paint shades and now eight two-tone options.
Many styling elements, like its 21-inch M Aerodynamic wheels, are carryovers from the M Sport equipped xDrive 60, as are its angular front and rear bumpers. The M70 only wears three M badges on its exterior, one on its trunk, and one on each of its front fenders. Since this is also a 2024 model year car, it doesn’t get the multicolor 50th-anniversary badge available for 2023 M products.
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Hani Joudi 
