Aoaohu

Despite the X7 mid-term facelift, the teaser videos and disguised cars that reveal almost everything, and the spy photos released 24 hours in advance, the debut of the all-new 7 Series/i7 still took the breath away from many people on the spot.

While the effect of chilled sliced beef lung is the same, the reasons behind it might not be. Some people are munching on melon seeds and tapping their feet, waiting to see BMW flop; some are amazed by the courage and strength of Munich; and some are casually eating hotpot and singing, having no intention to praise or criticize, simply finding it hard to believe their own eyes.

Grand and Bold

Nowhere has the eight Chinese characters of “Chinese inspiration, German craftsmanship” sounded as convincing as they did in the standard and yet slightly accented Chinese pronunciation of Mr. Jolyon Guss, CEO of BMW Greater China, on the stage.

Just a few days ago, BMW had given us a “warning” with the mid-term facelift of the X7, and had revealed in the teaser video of the all-new 7Series that there would be a larger-than-“big” kidney grille with LED light edges, slimmer daytime running lights that further degraded into “angel eyes” and main headlights with the main body hidden in the front bumper.

This design, called Iconic Glow, can be traced back to the illuminated kidney grille of the X6 and the slim headlights of the iX. The new X7 and the all-new 7 Series/i7 have taken a step further, delivering a more monumental grille image and a more slender “headlight visual image”.

In a relatively short time of the launch, BMW executives took almost five minutes to expound on the concept of “making China our home,” catering specifically to the Chinese market, affirming that China is the innovation soil for global automotive design, and using the tech-futuristic preference of Chinese consumers as a springboard to create this grand and bold work of art.

Recently, BMW has resumed the Hofmeister kink design for the C-pillar. The differences in the side appearance between the all-new 7 Series/i7 and the current models are not too significant. The door handle adopts the concave hidden design from the iX and i4. The simple tail of the car is easily overlooked, but it has also significantly weakened BMW’s previous signature of extravagant taillights, turning it into a slender strip-shaped taillight similar to that of the iX.The differences between the fuel (including hybrid) 7 Series and the pure electric i7 are minimal. In the latter, the front bumper is more concise, with a central blue i-series emblem, which also appears as a decorative blue accent on the rear wheel area and rear bumper. The appearance details of the fuel version 7 Series differ due to the body kit the car is equipped with.

If you remove the new 7 Series’ twin kidney grille and the front and rear BMW badges, you should be able to imagine a wave of new self-made cars. Although it looks particularly radical, in fact, BMW made it clear from the beginning: this wave of inspiration comes from China.

BMW has even provided the highly-praised dual-color car paint in China this time. Last year, BMW launched a limited edition of the previous generation 7 Series with a two-tone body, but it was exclusive to the 760Li model and sold for over 2.6 million yuan, which even many 7 Series owners could not afford. Now, the new 7 Series offers dual-color options directly.

The interior design of the new 7 Series and i7 draws highly from iX’s innovative interior layout. The biggest difference is that the flat front floor of iX naturally disappears, replaced by a large center console that highlights the luxury car’s temperament, due to the executive-class status of the 7 Series with its fuel structure.

The dual-tone steering wheel, curved floating dual screens, crystal knobs and gear shifters, as well as the BlingBling windmill door seat adjuster… These exquisitely dreamy and bourgeoisie-style components have garnered full recognition from reviewers including Ben McLeod (as expressed in the article “Only Focusing on iX’s Nostrils Limits Your Perspective”).# Flagship deserves exclusive treatment
In the new 7 Series and i7 models, the traditional interior trim has been replaced with a gorgeous, diamond-cut interactive light strip called the Interaction Bar. The air conditioning vents are hidden below this “Bar,” which is somewhat similar to the Tesla Model 3.

This is probably the final form of ambient lighting after being taken to the extreme.

The executive-level flagship’s rear seat, specifically the right rear seat, is always the most awe-inspiring place in the world. The new 7 Series features rare integrated leg rests, and the maximum backrest tilt angle this time is set to 42.5 degrees.

Just as the L9 Ideal was showing off the whole family playing games inside the car, the BMW side steps up with a more upscale option than the Ideal’s “family joy” and more dignified than the Lynk & Co’s “ballroom” – a 31-inch 8K theater widescreen. The screen ratio is 32:9, which provides two 16:9 screens for the two passengers to watch separately. The resolution reaches 7680 × 2160, and it can be stored on the roof when not in use.

The executive-level flagship’s rear seat controls are often placed in the center position, some of which are also designed as a small tablet to facilitate two passengers to operate separately. BMW’s choice this time is “I want them all.” They directly fixed a 5.5-inch touch screen on each of the left and right door panels so that both sides can control everything in the rear and even the entire car with one hand, and will not allow the guests to fuss and fight.

It perfectly avoided major business accidents such as “Luoyonghao and Cook discussing the acquisition of Apple in the car, just because they were fighting over the only small tablet in the rear seat to adjust the volume.”

Huge

If you have a vague feeling that the new 7 series and i7 are “so big”, congratulations, BMW has indeed been generous in size this time. The two have a wheelbase of 3215mm, which is the same as the current long-wheelbase 7 Series, but the overall length has now reached 5391mm, which is 118mm longer than the current long-wheelbase version! For comparison, on the Rolls-Royce side, the standard wheelbase version of the Ghost is only 5546mm.

What is somewhat surprising is that even though this significant flagship model “comes from China,” BMW did not release a long-wheelbase version at the same time.Because this time the new 7 series and i7 never plan to provide the “long-wheelbase version”. The standard wheelbase version of the 7 series is designed according to the long-wheelbase size, and the standard axis is the long axis, while the long axis is the standard axis, so it is more appropriate to understand that there is “no longer a standard axis version”.

BMW said that the 7 series (fuel/hybrid) will not be launched simultaneously in Europe (only i7), while in the Chinese and American markets, the 7 series and i7 will be sold side by side. The consideration of BMW at this level has completely shifted to China and America, taking into account the trade-offs in wheelbase size.

The powertrain of the fuel version 7 series is not new, and the exit of the V12 engine is well known. The first launch includes three pure fuel powers of 3.0T and 4.0T, all of which are equipped with 48V micro-hybrid systems. Two plug-in hybrids constitute a new powertrain sequence, and the chassis flat battery pack can provide about 80km of pure electric range.

Although the identity of the pure electric i7 is special, for us, we are no strangers to pure electric models derived from the BMW CLAR platform. Thanks to the long wheelbase, the i7 has a battery pack of about 100kWh, with a WLTP standard range of about 625km. Like the iX, it also supports a maximum of 195kW fast charging. Of course, infrastructure support from fast charging stations is required when it comes to China.

After the stunning appearance of the new 7 series and i7 was confirmed, many people dug out the case when Chris Bangle launched the E65, intending to prove that some malicious criticism was just a cloud covering the eyes. This generation of automotive editors is either generally young for intergenerational features, or our collective memory has never been concrete.

Design is always based on the times. The background color of our era for design and aesthetics is large, eye-catching, and highly recognizable. Posting it on social media can allow as many people (or IDs) as possible to recognize it at a glance and trigger comments, likes, and shares, this is our era of design and aesthetics.To be frank, from the trident emblem all over the car of Mercedes-Benz, to the enlarged twin kidneys of BMW, and to various automotive designs in recent years, it is like the rocket tails that were popular in American cars in the 1960s. Regardless of whether you love them or not, they are natural and inevitable of the times when you understand the ins and outs of all this, and you will not be obsessed with using beauty and ugliness to define a trend in a certain era.

BMW is trying a new style that looks extremely challenging and risky. However, if you divide and look at each radical element separately, you will realize they do not have any “rebellion” at all — the giant luminescent grille, narrow daytime running lights, split-type headlights, and slender taillights are designs that are commonplace and almost mainstream in our times.

What people are not used to is not those elements per se, but only their appearance on a BMW.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.