Re: 01 thread: F01 / F02 BMW 7er - Spy Pics & Info Part V (The Countdown)
All these pics and infos makes me curious to see how it will really look like. It's moving back to the sporty elegance of the Beemers, yet with a daring front... I really wonder. And I don't think these PS, even if very close, can show us the real car.
The front is not as daring as you may think. The headlights are an evolution of the current ones, with a touch of X5 / X6 styling. The bumper incl. the intakes is not that far away from FL E65, or even E38 or E32 (with shark-like nose). The hood is quite flat & wide - as seen on old BMWs.
The only "daring" elements are enlarged kidney grilles, and the sharp & prominent creases on the side of the hood.
The back is much more interesting. Getting inspiration from E32 7er (eg. L-shaped rearlights; gone is the clap shell boot lid replaced by E32 style one), incorporating some FL E65 elements (eg. metal strip), and presenting some new elements seen on CS Concept (eg. bumper, rear light graphics with LEDs).
Same case with interior: mix of past BMWs (driver oriented cockpit, stick shifter), some E65 elements (like heavy decoration, central dash & console influenced by iDrive), plus some elements of modern BMWs (e-shifter, typical new dash styling in X5 / X6 style etc)
His side profiles just look boring, or even ugly if we look to the E90´s one.
Side profile is - like the driver oriented cockpit & shark-like nose - is the biggest "back to the roots" element: featuring prominent straight upper character line (shoulder line), and the lower one as well (skirt line). So, the car looks like much horizontal & sleeker: enhancing elegant & luxurious appearance. Side panels are still "bloated" as on E65, but not as heavily. Also the prominent side character creases make the car less bloated as well, and therefore the styling more balanced. Yet the "flame surfacing" elements like sharp creases + convex / concave areas are much more prominent & present on F01 than they are on E65.
Btw, just like the E65's side profile is very clean, so it is the one of F01. Yet due above mentioned features, and shallower greenhouse / lower & more curvy roofline the car looks much sportier than E65.
And due its dimensions & perfect proportions (which are zillion times better than the ones of E65) it has much more presence than E65.
IMO side profile is MUCH better than the one of E65 - even more modern & just as boring or radical - since the only "radical" element on E65's side profile is the visible side cut line of the boot lid. Otherwise E65 profile is quite conventional & "boring".
Yes, the design & styling of F01 look much cleaner & harmonious than the ones of E65. But they are not perfect either - the intriguing BMW aesthetics is still present (the details!), and that makes the car very thrilling.
Think of E70 X5 vs. E53 X5 - it's almost the same story. Versus the E53 the E70 is looking luxurious & sporty / aggressive at the same time, styling is very dynamic & modern (flame surfacing), design is an evolution of the previous model(s), proportions are sportier, panels are less bloated.
Yet no design revolution this time.
PS: regarding F02 - yes, the proportions are less perfect on F02 than the ones on F01. But that has always been the case in SWB vs LWB variants - not only in BMW case.
To make it look better F02 needs the biggest wheels possible - but in that case the ride comfort is somehow compromised which is just the opposite of the aim of F02.
