CNET News (Enlarge photo)

As a mild hybrid, the Concept 7-series ActiveHybrid can't run under electric power alone--the electric motor merely adds thrust when needed and is an essential part of the idle-stop system. At a traffic light, the engine shuts down to save gas, with the electric motor cranking it back up when the driver hits the gas, and adding its power to make up for the initial shortcoming of the engine. BMW claims a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy.

The lithium-ion battery pack sits over the rear axle, and gets recharged through regenerative braking. Along with... // CNET News

Cars.com (Enlarge photo)

It seems luxury automakers dig hybrids, but only for their flagships. Following Mercedes’ S400 hybrid , BMW has announced a new concept — to be displayed at the upcoming Paris Motor Show — that drops a hybrid powertrain jointly designed with Mercedes into its recently refreshed 7 Series sedan. 

While the Mercedes-Benz S400 has a smaller engine and gets nearly 30 mpg, the 7 Series ActiveHybrid has a V-8 under its hood that’s teamed with a mild hybrid system to return — get this — 15% better fuel economy. The current 750 gets a combined 18 mpg, so a 15% improvement would bring that up to... // Cars.com

U.S. News Rankings & Reviews (Enlarge photo)

Disgraced investment bankers with little to look forward to, we have some good news! The newly redesigned 2009 BMW 7-Series is here.   The most luxurious bimmer is in the hands of the automotive press, and early reports seem to agree that it's an extraordinary machine.

Motor Trend raves, "Enveloped in perhaps the quietest car cabin ever devised, our all-day traverse in a long-wheelbase 750iL on narrow, winding roads and unlimited autobahn was a revealing showcase of the car's multilayered virtuosity."  BMW engineers have "have outdone themselves" with the car's  4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, they write.  "The sprint from 0 to 60 mph takes just 5.2 sec, but the number is meaningless because the effect of opening wide the throttle is relentlessly linear acceleration."  Even at high speed,... // U.S. News Rankings & Reviews

Jalopnik (Enlarge photo)

Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. I've been seeing a fair number of E24 BMWs in Alameda lately, so let's add this one to the DOTS parade. We've had this '83 633CSi , this '87 M6 , and '87 L6 so far, and now it's the turn of another '83 (I've been looking for some 5- and 7-series BMWs of this era on the island, but so far I haven't found any... // Jalopnik

The race to develop the best hybrid technology on the market is heating up as some of the worlds most respected luxury and performance carmakers get into the game - specifically, Germans like BMW and Mercedes. Today BMW announced the debut of its 7-series ActiveHybrid concept, the latest in a line of ActiveHybrid show cars, and one of the first expected to hit the streets.

The new 7-series hybrid joins the previous Vision EfficientDynamics diesel-hybrid based on the X5 and the original BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid from 2007 in BMWs stable of next-generation powertrain concepts. Though the car isnt expected to reach the marketplace until 2010, its already being viewed as a competitor to Mercedes-Benzs upcoming S400 BlueHYBRID sedan.

Co-developed drivetrains at the heart of both

While... // CarCental

BMW is back with another rendition of its ActiveHybrid system—this time in its flagship 7-series —with the world debut of the BMW Concept 7-series ActiveHybrid in October at the 2008 Paris auto show .

The automaker pairs the car’s twin-turbo, direction-injection, 4.4-liter V-8 engine with an electric drive for what is known as a mild hybrid—meaning the car cannot operate on electricity alone. Rather, the electric motors reduce fuel consumption and emissions—BMW claims by 15 percent—through such means as an automatic start-stop function that turns the vehicle off when it otherwise would be idling.

The idea is to make the car more efficient without compromising performance. The conventional version of the new 2009 7-series with the V-8 offers 400... // Car and Driver

MotorTrend Magazine (Enlarge photo)

BMW recently rolled out its first true hybrid concept car, called the 7 Series ActiveHybrid, prior to its Paris motor show debut next week and promises to set the bar in the performance luxury-sedan segment with its fuel-efficient, yet still very dynamic qualities. Many of the show car's hybrid components were built in conjunction with Daimler (who recently previewed its own S 400 BlueHybrid ) in order to cut high development costs under the... // MotorTrend Magazine

MotorTrend Magazine (Enlarge photo)

BMW recently rolled out its first true hybrid concept car, called the 7 Series ActiveHybrid, prior to its Paris Motor Show debut next week and promises to set the bar in the performance luxury sedan segment with its fuel efficient, yet still very dynamic qualities. Many of the show car's hybrid components were built in conjunction with Daimler (who recently previewed its own S 400 BlueHybrid ) in order to cut high development costs under the... // MotorTrend Magazine

BMW has given limited details on the hybrid, only saying that it will feature a V-8 and “an additional source of energy.†Nevertheless, we can assume it will use the same lithium-ion-powered, transmission-housed electric motor that will be in the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid, given that the automakers cooperated on its development. The hybrid will likely offer the 407-hp, 4.4-liter turbocharged V-8 found in the 2009 750i and... // Automobile Magazine

DailyTech (Enlarge photo)

The typical hybrid vehicle is a car that would have been considered an economy car even before the hybrid technology was added. The Toyota Prius is the best example of a hybrid vehicle available today.

Some drivers want a hybrid, but don’t want to own a small and not-so-luxurious car like the Prius. For this type of more affluent buyer, many luxury carmakers are starting to add hybrid vehicles to the fleet of available vehicles.

BMW recently announced the world debut of its Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid to appease these buyers. BMW says that its hybrid system offers the first use of BMW ActiveHybrid technology in the luxury saloon segment. BMW promises that its hybrid system reduces fuel consumption and emissions by 15% when compared to the same car without the hybrid system.

The... // DailyTech

The last time BMW unveiled a new 7-Series there was a feeling that the designers had lost the plot. 'What on God's holy earth were they thinking of?' was the general reaction to a car that looked, well... ugly.

After seven years we sort of got used to the ugliness, and y'know, we came to love it. It was like a successful arranged marriage - the unsightly aspects became beautiful and we got comfortable with the whole thing; relaxed, almost.

That was the fourth-generation 7-Series and the next incarnation, due to go on sale in the UK in November, will not have the same problems. This is a car that you'll like pretty much straight away because it looks... quite nice.

The changes form a neater, if conservative, design. From the front there's a new light cluster with LED lamps, a broader... // Channel 4 News

No performance claims have been made for the ActiveHybrid yet, but BMW claims it returns 15 per cent better fuel consumption than the new 750i upon which it is largely based, suggesting a combined average of around 28mpg.

By mounting the hybrid drivetrains lithium-ion battery in the same place as the standard 750is lead acid unit, BMW has managed to provide the electric 7 with the same interior and boot space as the standard car. Other... // Autocar

Formula One preview. Sunset in Singapore on the weekend of 26th, 28th September will set the scene for a captivating event, the first ever night race in the history of Formula One : -

The five kilometre plus circuit through the streets of the Asian port city will be illuminated by floodlights for the 15th race of the 2008 World Championship season.

The use of artificial lighting has been one of the hot topics in the lead up to the Singapore Grand Prix, which makes the illuminations created by German artists Friedrich Förster and Sabine Weißinger, better known as "Casa Magica", particularly appropriate.

Credit Suisse will present impressions by the partnership and parallels between the work of the renowned Swiss financial institution and the BMW Sauber F1 Team on the façade of... // F1SA

of touring car racing, and it did just that. Its career victories are nothing short of impressive; just about every series it was entered into - British, Italian, German or the one-off World Touring Car Championship - it won. Its fuel-efficient engine helped it to ace endurance racing, earning four victories apiece at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and the Spa 24 Hours. It's so common to hear that automakers employ advanced new technologies developed for racing in their new cars, but in the case of the first M3, it wasn't just elements of the car that were forged under the checkered flag, it was... // Automobile.com