BMW 7 Series Spied with Only Light Camoflage

By Clinton Deacon
April 3, 2008 8:38 PM
Filed Under: BMW, German, Spy Photos

The wraps have come off BMW’s next-generation executive limousine, the new 7-series. We’ve snapped the car at the firm’s Munich headquarters this morning, and it’s the first time the Mercedes S-class beater can be seen without the heavy cladding that so far made the elegant saloon looking like an ugly military tank.

With its huge twin-kidney grille and the wrap-around headlights the car mimics design elements of the X5 and X6 but keeps the exclusive character the 7-series is known for.

Though still disguised with a fake rear spoiler, it is clearly visible the rear end and especially the boot lid will become much more elegant compared to the current car’s back. In addition to the exterior updates, BMW will be introducing a new iDrive and – rumour has it – an eight-speed transmission.

The new 7 series will make its first public appearance at the Paris Show later this year and will arrive as a 2009 model.

Source: AUTOMEDIA

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Comments

Penner

April 3, 2008 8:42 PM

Lovely!

RCarvalho

April 3, 2008 8:52 PM

It will be sportier and prettier than the current model! Well done BMW! It will sell more than the S-class too!

Lutzie

April 4, 2008 2:02 AM

It will almost certainly NOT out sell the S-Class.

kingofthehill

April 3, 2008 8:54 PM

April fools day came late this year! Even without the camo it won't be much prettier than the current 7 series. Didn't you learn a lesson, BMW?!

coopergt

April 3, 2008 9:51 PM

still a big BMW with "idont drive" i assume!

german-cars-lover

April 3, 2008 9:53 PM

It will be somthing amazing and very German .

bernardo

April 3, 2008 9:08 PM

ROFLMAO!!!!! LOOK at the size of those grills! ffs!!!!! Pathetic!!!soon enough they will be bigger than audi grills, which I ask myself if they can get any bigger.

But seriously, they are unproporcional with the rest of the front end.And what the hell is this front bumper?Looks like they only had a ruler to desing it.Im the biggest BMW fan on earth, but this is horrible.

kevoluetion

April 4, 2008 6:17 AM

LOL, the bumper does look very geometric, almost like a floppy drive! Those grills are just way too big as you said. Lets see what happens when they undisguise it.

wjaprep

April 3, 2008 10:28 PM

Ok you guys, Ive figured out BMWs plan, to desgin the ugliest cars on the face of the earth *cough* E65/E66 and E63/E64*cough* with one feature on these ugly cars (the trunk lid) that other auto makers will copy (mercedes w221 Lexus LS460, ect...)then, bmw's new desgins will look better when compared to the previous models and compared to everyone else. Anyway, from what I can tell this looks better than the current 7 series, of course, its not tht hard to make it look better.

benz_man

April 5, 2008 10:45 AM

The high trunk-lid gives you cleaner airstream separation from the body at speed. This helps stabilize the turbulence behind the car which increases fuel economy. Thats why it's spread like hotfire through vehicle design departments.

ck314

April 3, 2008 11:35 PM

Yeah. At last! As expected it's going to be a top winner in its class. True, that disguised front end looks like some kitchen appliance (fries slicer?), but these folks know what they're doing, and I know the final result won't disappoint me. Ideally, they should lower it a cpl of cms., but this very well could be a 4WD version aimed at the competition (S 4Matic, A8 Quattro, LS600...)

Alex_011

April 4, 2008 12:10 AM

I like big 7, good cars (I prefer 750), but it will never be so good as S class. And this one too, nothing special in terms of design.

odysseus

April 4, 2008 12:25 AM

looks much much much better than the current 7 series ? but not as good as a maserati quattroporte which is already a few years on the market. i know, the quattroporte isn't really comparable with the bmw, but it's also a luxury car.

muellr

April 3, 2008 11:38 PM

the side view is a little blunt looking. no sculpting just like the front where it seems that all attention is drawn to the grill. I like that it is almost a negative sloping grill. the onluy other car would be the awesome mean looking front of the new mitsu lancer evo. I am sure that painted in the right colour its stunningly elegant compared to the actual s class with its aftermarket stuck on fender looks..

illest813

April 4, 2008 12:50 AM

a8/s8 are cooler

_M7_

April 4, 2008 2:06 AM

still a brick whit weels as audi and mercedes...boring cars, sorry

MB.65

April 4, 2008 1:14 AM

I see no innovation in design; at least the Japanese know how to make cars look interesting. This looks very similar to the current seven except for a higher greenhouse line and a more poised stance. Sure it will be a pretty car with new lights, etc.. but there is nothing really to distinguish this car drastically from many of the other cars you see on the road today

michelin901

April 4, 2008 2:29 AM

this one is gonna be great. the renders that arose a while ago looked awesome n hope it sticks to tat. the large grille and the cs theme are the new direction for bmw. bring em on

DieselDog

April 4, 2008 1:42 AM

I see good things... A better boot-lid, nice shoulder crease, more sinister-looking headlights, sporting exhause detail...all nice. I, too, belive the twin-kidneys are a bit too large, perhaps to try to disguise the height of the bonnet required by Euro pedestrian safety standards. Perhpas it won't look too bad if they do something better with the very large lower opening. Gad - it looks like a mouth-breather.

Lutzie

April 4, 2008 2:07 AM

Remonds me of the Previous shape %-Series. BORING.

peterjames7

April 4, 2008 3:46 AM

dissappointed with bmw, i thought they would have made something a bit more special after all the critiscm of the flame surfacing design direction, the current s class is very sporty while being commanding and powerfull this new 7 looks fat like the current gen.

boring

mustang5507

April 4, 2008 3:16 AM

If this current 7 is so ugly and iDrive hideous, why is it the most successful one to date??? They got something right.

kevoluetion

April 4, 2008 6:15 AM

Because people are blinded by the brand

Cabron89

April 4, 2008 6:00 AM

The 7 series has always been a beautiful car but currently it has NO chance against the S-Class in terms of design. There is no way that a BMW 7 can stand out more than a S-Class!

kevoluetion

April 4, 2008 6:18 AM

They can, by making it bigger and bigger.

Moko

April 4, 2008 7:46 AM

The car is ok, people are dissing it but like somebody said others might copy some functios of it, but what of the Cs though??i dont see any cues taken from the Cs, is the Cs gonna be a 8 series meaning more expensive than that 7 series but less expensive than a baby phantom?? like come on BMW what is Going On??

wisp

April 4, 2008 9:34 AM

I'd rather wait and see the end product.I suspect the end product might make people pick up their jaws off the floor. Let's wait and see.

v1p3r

April 4, 2008 8:33 AM

It's amazing how much those few pieces of swirly tape can influence how the car appears to the eye, same with the tape over the creases and lines on the sides. That, along with different wheel, unmasked headlights, exposed kidney grille trim and more rear detail will make this car look totally different - BMW are renowned for very good optical camo - that's why I'll reserve judgement till more is revealed over the next few months. Looks good to me so far.

X5M

April 4, 2008 11:32 AM

It will always be better than the S class, BMW looks brutal, they all look powerfull!!!!

worldcarfan87

April 4, 2008 1:16 PM

the 7 series is taking cues from other cars in the current range, whereas this model should be spearheading bmw's new design language as seen in the cs concept i think. mind you bmw are probably going in cautious this time given the reaction to the current 7 series

Penner

April 4, 2008 3:39 PM

That is an SUV-limousine ;)

AhmadatioN

April 4, 2008 8:50 PM

i think if they sell the design to the kia motors,they will gain moooooooree than selling it as 7 SERIES :D

radmeister

April 5, 2008 2:12 AM

Limousines never have a crazy design, they are all about engineering and comfort. It just has to look decent on the outside, as long as it is reliable and more comfortable with more technological features than the competition it will outsell them. I think the current 7 series looks amazing, lowered with some 20" M rims it is the boss of the road, black on black, tinted windows with the chrome edge around the windows, it is a real boss car. I wish they would finally make an M7 with the 6.0L V12 and twin turbo it :D

benz_man

April 5, 2008 10:40 AM

You can get an Alpina B7 in the US.

worldcarfan87

April 8, 2008 4:50 PM

i just think that it need to have a better design (seen in the cs concept) if it wants to overtake the s-class, which is clearly the market leader.

AG4

April 7, 2008 8:55 AM

I'm guessing we'll be seeing BMW's twin-turbo 3.0 inline-6 (735i?) and new twin-turbo 4.4 V8 (750i?) in the new 7-series. I wonder what will power the next 760i.

norther

April 8, 2008 11:22 PM

damn it...i hoped the new 7 series would look better than the current one. but these pics dont give me that hope....anymore. as the article said ... ".. elegant saloon looking like an ugly military tank." in other words.. ohh my liebe Got, das ist eine Panzer!!! (ps. sorry guys my german SUX)

Speedoholic

April 11, 2008 11:47 AM

It looks just perfect, even with camouflage ...

menlau

May 2, 2008 12:58 PM

For the one who are interested , I have seen the car yesterday morning in the city of Regensburg ( 1 hour on the north of Munich) with the same Light Camoflage, a lot of style with this Camoflage !

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