2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 7
The 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 has a lower MSRP this year, though some previously standard equipment is now optional, including the head-up display and the active and ventilated front seats.
So try not to think of the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 as a rolling contradiction with a price tag that outweighs its efficiency. Instead consider that it's a sophisticated super sedan with the power of a V12 engine, only with the thirst of a mere V8. Only then does this $100,000 techno-vessel begin to make sense.
At the heart of the 7 Series hybrid beats a twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V8 and an advanced eight-speed automatic transmission. Of course, there is also a three-phase synchronous electric motor sandwiched between them. When the output from both systems is combined and blended, the result is a 17-foot-long missile that can either accelerate like a sports car or earn about 24 mpg on the highway -- but not both.
Compared to the regular BMW 750i, the hybrid 7 loses only about 1 cubic foot of trunk space to house the batteries that make all this possible. The ActiveHybrid 7 also weighs between 275 and 450 pounds more than its non-hybrid analogues, depending on which wheelbase is selected. But the added mass is not from batteries alone.
