Article Summary
- BMW showcased the new 740 xDrive and iX3 50 xDrive at the Czech round of the BMW Golf Cup.
- The iX3 was offered as a hole-in-one prize, but nobody managed to win the electric SUV.
- BMW also brought an M4 Convertible and an X7 with a diesel engine.
Your favorite luxury automaker used this year’s Czech round of the BMW Golf Cup to put some of its newest models in front of an audience that probably didn’t need much convincing to appreciate expensive cars. Among the vehicles on display were the massively facelifted 7 Series and the iX3.
The flagship sedan was represented by the 740 xDrive, while the electric crossover took the shape of the iX3 50 xDrive. While these two headlined the car lineup, BMW also brought a few models from the “old guard.” We’re talking about two completely different vehicles: an M4 Convertible and the X7 in xDrive40d diesel form. Pairing six-cylinder gasoline and diesel cars with a full EV is a good way to promote the “Power of Choice” slogan Munich has used for a few years.
The 740 xDrive and iX3 50 xDrive also provide an interesting snapshot of where BMW is heading. One is a traditional luxury sedan powered by a good ol’ engine, while the other rides on the Neue Klasse platform and represents the company’s next wave of EVs. Put them side by side, and you get a pretty good idea of BMW’s strategy: don’t force customers into one type of powertrain, at least not yet.
The New iX3 Is A Glimpse Into BMW’s Neue Klasse Future
The iX3 is arguably the more forward-looking of the two, though. BMW has positioned the Neue Klasse electric SUV as a major technological leap, with a new-everything approach. It’s a very different proposition from the combustion-powered 7 Series. Nevertheless, both wear the same roundel, and BMW markets them under the same “Power of Choice” umbrella. And with a bit of help from Rimac, the updated i7 also benefits from battery technology first introduced with the Neue Klasse iX3. It brings some of BMW’s latest EV know-how to the flagship electric sedan, even if it’s a mid-cycle facelift rather than a next-gen car.
As for the golf event, the national final took place on September 17 at PGA National Czech Republic OAKS Prague, where 84 players competed across three categories. While the tournament’s main purpose was to determine who would represent the Czech Republic at the world final in South Africa, BMW also predictably turned the event into a convenient showroom on grass.
Circling back to the iX3, it had an even bigger role at the tournament because BMW offered one as the prize for a hole-in-one. There was just one small problem: nobody managed to pull it off. As a result, the iX3 50 xDrive went home with BMW rather than one very lucky golfer. It was a different story a few days earlier when Frédéric Lacroix scored a hole-in-one at the 2026 BMW PGA Championship in the UK to win the new iX5 60 xDrive.
The Golf Course Becomes A Mobile Showroom
That makes the Czech event a little less exciting for the golfers hoping to drive home in a brand-new EV, but BMW still got plenty of mileage out of the iX3’s presence. The Neue Klasse SUV is one of the company’s most important new models, so putting it alongside the flagship 7 Series gave potential customers a chance to see two very different sides of the BMW lineup in one place.
In both instances, the golf course was more than just a place to hand out trophies. It was effectively a mobile showroom with plenty of BMW roundels, and, in this case, a rather interesting mix of old-school combustion power and new-school EV tech.
