If you kept an eye on BMW's testing of the upcoming all-new 7 Series, then you too must be praying each night that everything the spy photos seem to be pointing toward is just an illusion - a ruse organized by the Bavarians to throw us off the track and keep our expectations low until the official reveal.
However, deep down inside, we all know the 7 Series is going to be a weird-looking machine. The only reason I'm not calling it "ugly" is because there might be a few people out there who would disagree with that assertion, which is enough to make it incorrect. The fact it won't look anything like the rest of the models currently on sale, though, is not debatable, so the "weird" adjective is thoroughly deserved.
The latest crop of new models and concepts introduced by BMW adds more fuel to the fire. It all started with the new 4 Series and its huge grille, continued with the iX electric SUV and its overall questionable aesthetics and culminated only a few months ago with the XM Concept, a performance SUV with an appearance that's so baffling, I genuinely wouldn't know where to start from.
So, everything considered, are there any reasons for optimism concerning the new 7 Series? Well, yes, there are: it'll feature updated tech, high levels of comfort, potentially a performance version – definitely an all-electric one – but when it comes to its exterior design, heaven help us, there is not even a flicker of light to be seen at the end of the tunnel.
That's somewhat ironic considering the many stacked lights the BMW designers seem to have crammed on the 7 Series’ nose (as suggested by the spy shots seen so far since nobody really knows what the actual car looks like once the camo is removed). It used to be the grille but now, it looks like headlight design might become the number one complaint people will have about BMW's visual identity. Fret not, though, as the grille is always capable of making a comeback, so you never know.
The renderings you see here come from the Brits at carwow (yes, that channel with that Mat Watson guy doing cool drag races). Unlike previous stuff, which seemed to focus on the regular 7 Series, they went and covered the i7 all-electric version (recently seen testing) as well as a yet-unconfirmed M7 performance version.
If their take proves to be correct, neither the closed grille of the EV nor the sporty bits of the M7 are enough to make the limousine's design passable. Hopefully, the specs of these models are going to be so absolutely, undeniably, irrefutably great that everyone will simply look at the vehicle's exterior design as a small price to pay compared to the whole package. Yes, that's wishful thinking, but it's Christmas so, if not now, then when?
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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