It's really a shame that the word "hybrid" has such a miserly connotation. It's as though everything stamped with the word has to be either economical, eco-friendly or worse: both! How are giant luxury cars with twin-turbocharged V8s supposed to fit in a category like that?
"Wait!" you might blurt between mouthfuls of organic Kelpa-Cola and Tofurkey-flavored birdseed, "That's the whole point!"
Well, you aren't exactly right. Fact of the matter is, if your car has both an electric motor and something running on fossil fuel, you've got yourself a hybrid. And that's where the 455-horsepower 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i comes in. It's the quickest hybrid in the world.
BMW isn't the first company to adapt a somewhat-liberal take on the mission statement of a "hybrid," so we're not going to bash the Germans about the ActiveHybrid 750i. This car is economical when you think of it as compared to the conventional BMW 750i. And an EPA highway rating of 26 mpg isn't just good, it's great — especially for a car that will dust the V12-powered BMW 760i while leaving your pockets some $35,000 fuller. Heck, the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i will even give the sinister Alpina B7 an honest run for its money.
Separated at Birth
As far as we can tell, this car must have been swapped at birth with some prototype of a 7 Series with an M badge. This is funny, because the hybrid badge this car wears automatically leads us to expect a BMW 740i — a sedan not known for heart-stopping power — that's forced to lug around a bunch of batteries. Yep, we cringe at the mere thought of a couple hundred pounds of nickel-metal hydride batteries compromising a flawless suspension setup and wreaking havoc on braking ability.
Yeah, 400 kW/h turns out to be more than a static shock; it's run-your-clothes-dryer-for-an-hour power.
Instead, the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i is kind of the ultimate version of the 7 Series. While it is true that the electrified 7 is still the big-boned kid in the 7 Series family, it carries its weight well.
The car packs 231 pounds extra compared to a 750i, but it's also got 20 hp extra from the electric motor, not to mention an extra 155 pound-feet of torque in all the right places. On top of that, the twin-turbocharged V8 is another 40-hp healthier in hybrid trim. No matter how hard we push this behemoth down the road, we just can't feel those extra pounds that come with the hybrid badges. There is, at times, just the faintest bob in the rear end over undulations, but then again, that might have simply been our stomachs trying to keep up with 4,795 pounds of Bavarian engineering.
German Cooking
The recipe we're talking about here isn't exactly as complicated as 11 herbs and spices. Unlike the BMW ActiveHybrid X6, with its two electric motors and complicated transmission, the ActiveHybrid 750i is a mild hybrid — a straightforward powertrain that simply stops and starts when the car comes to a rest. And there's none of that silent running across the intersection on battery power (which is the thing that Prius owners love so much). The technology at work is no more mysterious than what General Motors has been doing with the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid and Saturn Vue hybrid.
Though, as you may expect, BMW's execution on the 7 Series is different. And by that we mean, if this were a bake-off, the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i would be German chocolate cake made from scratch, while the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid comes out looking more like Betty Crocker from the box.
As is typical in the buzzword-abusing subsegment of hybridity, BMW has essentially sandwiched a small electric motor between the engine and the automatic transmission, only we just happen to be discussing a twin-turbocharged, triple-intercooled direct-injected V8 and an eight-speed automatic transmission. And that big trunk full of nickel-metal explosives that you were picturing is actually a high-performance lithium-ion battery pack that takes up a mere 1 cubic foot of trunk space and weighs a little less than 60 pounds (most Americans could stand to lose that much off their midsections).
Despite the power pack's svelte size, it can crank out 400 kW/h of power. Yeah, we were curious, too, so we looked it up and apparently this much power turns out to be more than a static shock; it's run-your-clothes-dryer-for-an-hour power.
For the Love of a V8 Hybrid
The genius of this design is that in situations where a big, thirsty forced-induction V8 sucks at life, the torquey, little electric motor can merrily take the initial load off. Piddle around in a parking lot or mill through traffic and the eight-cylinder will take smaller sips still, courtesy of an auto-start stop function. And since the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i features an all-electric air-conditioning system, you're guaranteed that the cabin will stay cool regardless of whether the engine is running. Our guess is that most drivers would have no idea they were driving a hybrid.
Should you suddenly wake up and realize that minimizing your eco-footprint around town is about as entertaining as ironing socks, the twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 combines with the electric motor to fire the entire technological smorgasbord to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Trust us when we say it's everything you would never expect to happen when you put your foot in it. With a combined 455 hp and a 515 lb-ft of torque, the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i feels capable of melting faces and small planetary bodies alike.
We Could Get Used to This Hybrid Deal
So it turns out that we can really get behind this hybrid, though we kind of feel bad that this car might be the ultimate green pretender since it costs $103,175. But if you're in the market for a gigantic sedan, why even bother with anything else? Maybe the freshly minted Alpina B7? Well, the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i feels just as fast and returns much better gas mileage, at 17 city/26 highway mpg compared to the B7's 15 city/21 highway mpg.
BMW is betting that most American buyers will feel the same way. The company says that it expects somewhere around 45 percent of total sales of the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 750i sales to be right here, in the land of apple pie. Given how well the car adheres to the BMW mantra of driving dynamics above all else and that Uncle Sam will have no problem handing you a tax incentive when you sign the dotted line, we're inclined to agree.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
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kfalch says:
09:48 AM, 05/31/2010
It's funny to see the american car trends compared to the european trends. While you americans get faster and over the topp powerful cars us europeans are more than happy with a tourqy diesel. Here economy and green meens exactly economy and green, in america the hybrid name is doesn't meen fuel efficient any more, although they are a bit more fuel efficient than the pure gas cars.
Here no one would ever call a BMW 730d green, even though it crushes this hybrid in fuel efficiency. A 730d gets 25MPG in city and 40MPG on the highway (EU mixed cycle) and does 0-60 in 7seconds. Who needs a 4000+ luxo sedan that does 0-60 in under 5seconds?
As says "Why does it have to get BETTER performance?" because you americans just can't get enough of POWER and PERFORMANCE, that's why.
Here in Europe a BMW 520d is considered a fast car, it does 0-60 in about 7,9seconds and gets 47MPG combined average in the EU mixed cycle. Most people here wouldn't even call this a green car, but if this was brought to the US every Hollywood moviestar would drive it!
aaykay says:
06:49 PM, 05/28/2010
We have already crossed the "performance hybrid" bridge in the past, right ? The last generation Honda Accord came as a "performance hybrid" with additional performance over the normal V6 version......of course Honda stopped producing it a year or so after, since it failed in the marketplace.
A lot better option for Honda would have been to hybridise the 4-cylinder Accord and make it more fuel efficient.
cr_driver says:
10:07 AM, 05/28/2010
Well, lets talk a bit about the S400H vs the BMW Active Hybrid.
The car has a N/A V6, instead of a monster twin turbo V8, delivers 295 hp, instead of a monster 455 hp, has a barely decent 284 lb-ft of torque instead of the thunderous 515 lb-ft of the BMW, and yet, all the mercedes can do is deliver the SAME HWY fuel economy of the bmw!! LOL.....now thats a whole league under for the mercedes.
The merc gets to 60 in 7.2 secs, while the maestro here gets in 4.7 secs....wow
Advantages of the merc? Has 19 city mpg instead of 17 of the bimmer. And costs less.
So if you want less, pay less and get the mercedes.
If you want the best of both worlds, pay more for it, get the BMW and enjoy it, you deserve it big fella.
ziggerman says:
10:03 AM, 05/28/2010
Bradford, I recommend double-checking your physics. Electric propulsion for cars is here, so you may as well learn the stuff quickly :)
Here are the problems with your article in this department:
- kW/h is not a measurement of power. kW is.
- kWh is a measurement of ENERGY (note there is no slash). Is that what you were referring to?
- energy and power are NOT the same thing. Energy is power*time.
- a clothes dryer draw around 4kW of power. In an hour it would consume 4kWh of power
Can you please fix you article?
ed124c says:
06:46 AM, 05/28/2010
Why doesn't the city mileage mirror a "normal" hybrid's-- like the Prius, which gets better city EPA than highway?
Also, why couldn't BMW just produce a 7 series hybrid with COMPARABLE performance to a regular all-gas 7. Why does it have to get BETTER performance?
Is BMW's thinking along the lines of "our customers aren't going to buy a 7 series hybrid because they don't want a hybrid and don't care about spending a lot for gasoline, so.... we will give them a higher performing 7, at a higher price, of course, and the customers can feel proud that they have a "hybrid". Which, of course, doesn't get the gas mileage of a non-hybrid plebian V6 sedan, which is certainly powerful enough.
Back in the day (50s and 60s) a peppy car got to 60 in 10 seconds, and 12-13 seconds was quite common. In the mid to late 60s, Detroit began the power race, and cars got faster and faster. But, to put this in proper perspective, my '68 Z28 is rated at 7 seconds 0-60. A Camry is faster than that today, and it is driven by people who don't really know how to drive.
My car was so scary fast-- to me-- that I bought a Corvair to drive when I might be drinking or going somewhere that might induce a drag race.
No one today even blinks at 0-60 in 6 seconds. Why has this happened? One thing is for sure: Today's cars would get much better gas mileage if they had the same performance level as my '68 Z28. And imagine the mileage if today's cars got the same performance as a 0-60 in 10 seconds car. Oh, wait, isn't that how fast a Prius is?
kernals12 says:
04:26 AM, 05/28/2010
i think this will be filed in the same category as the lexus ls600hl
i mean it's expensive
if you want a 7 series but want to use less gas just get a 740, it's much cheaper and it's not quite as fast but it has enough power
this hybrid is just over the top
mercedes is the only luxury brand that's embracing hybrid tech correctly with the s400 hybrid
jpeyton89 says:
04:18 AM, 05/28/2010
I feel the need to hug a tree now....
bodyshopboy says:
02:54 AM, 05/28/2010
Hybrids are sexy, have lots of low end get up...But the gain in gas mileage seems a bit like diminishing returns when you look at the environmental cost of producing the batteries.
I can't help but wonder what a big diesel engine would yield for both performance and economy.
thedream21479 says:
11:16 PM, 05/27/2010
Not bad at all....yea 100k seems like a lot to swallow, but buyers of the 7 series, S-class, A8 etc. are usually well heeled anyway