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According to khabarkhodro,And you thought BMW's designs couldn't get more controversial...
BMW is hard at work preparing the next-generation 7
Series and spies from Motor.es have managed to get up close and personal with a
camouflaged prototype of the luxobarge. It's still wearing a lot of makeup, but
the headlights are a bit more visible than before, thus providing us with a
better look at the unconventional setup. Yes, the 7er seems to have split
headlights with a separate upper strip of LEDs for the daytime running lights.
The main cluster is mounted lower on the front bumper
and appears to have two lighting modules for the low beam, housed in a
rectangle. It's shaping up to be a divisive look for Bavaria's flagship car,
and we can't also help but notice the license plate sits unusually low, at the
very bottom of the bumper. Previous test vehicles didn't have it sitting so
close to the road, so we wonder what's that about.
Elsewhere, the kidney grille is not getting any smaller
as it looks just as imposing as on the current 7 Series. The front fascia seems
considerably sharper and lower than before, à la 8 Series E31, while the side
profile reveals flush door handles shared with other recent BMWs. In case you
haven't noticed, those white "handles" are fake as they're nothing
more than stickers.
The back of the car has exposed areas revealing the
vehicle's true color, a dark blue shade you can also notice in the upper
corners of the front bumper. The taillights have a wraparound design as they
continue on the sides of the car and likely meet in the middle of the tailgate
as the prototype gives the impression it's hiding an LED light bar.
BMW will use an updated configuration of its CLAR
platform for the next 7 Series, which has already been confirmed to come in
gasoline, diesel, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric configurations. The V12
powerhouse is being retired, but you can rest assured the engineers have found
a way to replace the silky smooth 6.6-liter, twin-turbo M760i with something
just as good but with fewer emissions and lower fuel consumption.
Not only will the exterior go through massive changes,
but so will the cabin. The new 7 Series will get BMW's latest iDrive 8 with
side-by-side screens incorporated into a single, slightly curved housing. While
the new 2 Series Active Tourer has lost the iDrive knob, interior spy shots of
the German automaker's range-topping car revealed the dial was still there.
The wraps should come off sometime next year, likely
after the 3 Series' mid-cycle facelift and before the next-gen 5 Series due
quite possibly in 2023.
