BMW 7-Series: What If The Next Gen Was Inspired By The E38?

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BMW’s 7 Series is an interesting kettle of fish. The pinnacle of luxury driving machines recently underwent a thorough mid-life facelift, resulting in a badly polarizing front finish. Some are fearful that its enormous kidney grille has the propensity to feed on krill, small creatures and children, whilst others love its bold, imposing presence.

As the Munich-based producer ’s flagship sedan, the reason was that the demand for it to stick out above the rest of the range. Differentiation between the 5 and 7 Series had been missing recently, so thus the opinion-splitting new front end. Fortunately, BMW has promised us this approach won’t propagate to the rest of their lineup.

Also Read: How BMW’s 7-Series Face Evolved From Glorious Great White To Obnoxious Whale Shark

But this begs the question; suppose that should in a parallel universe BMW went down an alternative, more conservative route for your 7 Series?

One faces the future with a single ’s past

To answer that I’ve illustratively tapped to BMW’so glory days and one rockstar car in particular – the next generation E38 7 Series. Styled by Boyke Boyer and produced between 1994 and 2001, it’s thought by most gearheads as BMW’s best-looking (and managing too) big sedan. Its timeless shape even appeared in such films as The Transporter and the James Bond feature movie, Tomorrow Never Dies.

Photo Renderings Copyright Carscoops / Josh Byrnes

The E38 motif applied inside this redesign study can be found in many areas including it’s elegant, squared-off bodywork, reduced cowl, mid-body creases, protruding bumpers, prominent fenders, along with normal-sized twin-kidney grille.

Elements of this present 7 Series are still kept with angular double halo LED lighting, chrome front fender vases, plus a sleek roofline. Additional details included into the visual combination include Aston Martin-like retractable door handles, square back led lighting and blacked-out segments of this a-pillars.

Pondering about specs and the interior

Whilst maybe perhaps not illustrated here, we’d imagine an interior which ditches the garish silver trim around the air vents, and borrows more driver-focused BMW fundamentals of old. A wraparound center stack and sporty driving position could make a comeback, featuring cutting edge infotainment technology and semi-autonomous motorist assists.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be a 7’er without strong inline-six, V8 and V12 options. The latter device is supposed to disappear from BMW’s powertrain catalog at 2023. But we’d like to see it return using some kind of hybridisation; massive amounts of power and torque being pumped through a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system? Yesplease!

Speaking of torque, complete electrification would be a contemporary twist on a classic nameplate – that a Tesla Model S competition featuring solid-state batteries and a 600-mile plus range perhaps? This kind of battery technology is still in evolution and a few years away from getting commercially viable, but the assumption is not there. Such a version of this 7 Series would have an internal struggle against the forthcoming i7 – a full size sedan BEV competitor to Mercedes-Benz’s EQS, yet it’so good to have number.

Related Story: BMW 7-Series Facelift vs. Audi A8 vs. Mercedes S-Class

Ultimately, what are your ideas on this design study – should BMW to return its conservative ways using the 7 Series?

Share your ideas in the comments below.

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