UP FRONT

By Richard Mandel
Editor in Chief

Patrician Perks

There's something rather…freeing… about throwing a $75,000 luxury car around a closed ¼ mile road course. Particularly when ownership of said car isn’t, and likely never will be, bearing my signature.

Recently I was invited to test drive next year’s BMW 7-series sedan by my wife’s cousin Marty, procurer extraordinaire and master of The Questionable Resource. In other words, when he shows on the doorstep with the killer opportunity, protocol dictates don’t ask. ‘So,’ he says, ‘BMW is touring the country with these cars for test driving, and I’ve got an invitation that says I can bring a someone with me.’ Mind you, he’s not an automotive engineer, a car dealer employee or a mechanic, but as mentioned, I ask no questions of him.

Now, as you know, this is not a magazine that provides regular, dubiously insightful reviews of automobilia. You want specs and knowledgeable commentary, go read Automobile, or Motor Trend, or any of several other newsstand publications. On this page, though, I’d like to pass along some details of note about the car. (I know I wrote about test-driving a car last month, but this is an actual production car as opposed to a prototype that may never see a production line. Editorial opportunities are just ironic sometimes.)

Much has already been written about the 745’s engine, particularly the fact that it has no traditional throttle. Instead, the quantity of air/fuel mixture sucked into each cylinder is controlled by modifying how far the two-intake-valves-per-cylinder open. In this fashion, there are no loss or turbulence issues because of the throttle plate. This system is operated by-wire — no mechanical cable or linkage involved. BMW engineers thoughtfully gave the accelerator enough counterspring to feel like a traditional gas pedal. Combined with a six-speed automatic transmission (also electronically, not mechanically, actuated), the vehicle’s two tons are launched rather briskly and well.

The Adaptive Frame Package on the 745Li keeps the mass tracking efficiently, even when whipping through a course of S-turns, reducing-radius corners and fast lane changes. A split stabilizer bar on the rear wheels has computer-controlled motors on each segment varying the twist as G-forces increase. Plus, this model has Electronic Damping and self-leveling air springs. These components also come into play when the anti-lock braking system is employed to bring the car from fast to stop.

Inside, the front seat can heat and massage you once you apply the 20 separate comfort adjustments. Even the headrest and steering column adjust electronically. And the much-discussed iDrive is there, essentially a single knob handling climate, entertainment, communications and GPS navigation, all displayed on a large screen set into the dash (recommendation — there needs to be an interlock to prevent drivers from tinkering with this system without first pulling over to the side of the road. Hey, we need that on cell-phones, too.)

There’s a mother lode of technologies to be explored on this car, ones that will likely be copied in some fashion for the next decade or two. For me, the telling moment came in being shown the trunk space (note: door electronically opens and closes here, too). The demonstrator opened the right-wheel-well panel to reveal the fuse panel, holding easily two dozen fuses. Below this lies a 120A battery to power all these bells and whistles, about twice the size and capacity of the battery in my small, six-year-old proletarian family wagon. It just goes to show that the wealthy do rely on all the power they can muster.