Having just seen the official photos, one thing comes to mind, giant 5 series.
I really am not sure what to think when I see the lower bumper. The transition is quite interesting from the creases in the front into the side and then back down. The size of the car is hidden well in the press pictures, in fact it almost appears small.
Funny thing, the rear in some photos looks almost like an suv, the lights are bit big. I feel the rear might still stir up controversy. I am curious about the 2 different exhaust styles, must be the sporty swb vs the normal lwb. the hood crease does run into the corners of the grill.
the front looks aggressive with the grill although being large is not too large.
I wouldn't say the car went back to the old E38 style at all, in fact it feels like an evolution of the E60 then blown up into a larger 7er format. I still can't get used to the new rear, the older facelifted 7er has a good rear design.
I agree the rear lights are like the E32, but their shape mimics the front lights as mentioned on here before. In some angles the lights look too large in others, mainly dead on rear, they look fine, sporty and sleak.
The car will look nice in black and white. Overall I like it, not a massive leap like E38 to E65 but still distinct enough to know its a new 7er, but at times from far away you could mistaken it for a current 5er.
Ha I am tempted to modify the press photos with a different color, larger wheels and in black.
edit, the more I look at it, the more it grows on me.
