Car and Driver: BMW X7 to Offer 4-Seat $100K-Plus Ultra-Luxe Version

BMW’s X7, which is expected to arrive in early 2018, initially was conceived as a seven-seater in order to take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLS-class and the Audi Q7. (The smaller BMW X5 offers a third row, but it’s cramped.) Now comes word, from Automotive News, that BMW is planning to use the X7 to launch a limo-like ultra-luxurious variant as well, according to BMW sales chief Ian Robertson and North America CEO Ludwig Willisch.

The upper-luxury X7 will dispense with the third row—it will be a four-seater. It will also have a “distinct look.” Figure extra chrome and glitter on the outside, as well as elaborate wood and leather inside this big boy.

Expected to account for about 1 percent of X7 sales, the inspiration for the über-luxurious X7 is clear: The upper-luxury SUV segment is growing rapidly, and it promises fantastic profit margins. As soon as the Bentley Bentayga was announced, other carmakers scrambled to create more-luxurious variants of their existing or upcoming big SUVs. There’s the Range Rover Holland & Holland Edition, positioned even higher than its Autobiography models; Mercedes is said to be working on a Maybach version of the next-generation GLS; and, in perhaps the most direct parallel, Volvo just launched the four-seat XC90 Excellence—priced at $105,895.

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Then there’s the SUV that promises to be the most luxurious of all, the upcoming Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Robertson hastened to claim that the ultimate X7 won’t share “any components” with the Roller. That’s a relief.

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