Thursday, September 22, 2022

What Were They Thinking?: the 2023 BMW 7 Sedan

In 2014 I wrote about the controversial Chris Bangle 7 Series rear-end styling features, and in 2020 I posted "BMW 7 Series Recent Grille Design Evolution," regarding recent trends in ever-enlarged grilles.

That trend has now reached production for BMW's top-of-the-passenger-car-line BMW 7 Series four-door sedan for 2023.  Below are a few factory-sourced photos for your enlightenment.

Gallery

The frontal design has a very heavy appearance, weighing down the front of a car whose remaining styling already seems heavy.

Side styling is comparatively free of the overly sculpted manner of many current production cars from Asia.  The C-pillar retains BMW's signature dog-leg.  It's basically not that strong, but the chrome trim adds a good deal of unneeded emphasis.

Rear sculpting is better integrated thematically than on many cars, but still slightly on the fussy side.  The thin, horizontal tail tail assemblies echo the headlight assemblies.

The problem is that the grille frame is too large in proportion to the rest of the car.  I have no serious problem with its shape other than it does not relate to any nearby body and trim sculpting.  I suggest BMW styling and corporate management should head for the nearest bierkeller come Oktoberfest and give serious thought to new grille-related product identification alternatives.

1 comment:

emjayay said...

I just walked by one of these parked on the street. They are so very much the opposite of where BMW started in sedans with the Neue Klasse (I know, actually mostly styled by Italians) which were much more in the Bauhaus tradition. The model known in the US as the Bavaria is the direct predecessor. I can only describe the front of these or the SUV equivalent as garish, if not frightening. I'm not sure if the huge kidney grilles actually admit any air. They are probably aimed at selling to new Chinese millionaires and Middle Eastern oil sheiks.

The next all-electric models may end the absurdity. I still consider the last Jaguar XJ - even after about ten years of production - as the only Euro luxury barge I would want to be seen in (if I had the big bucks to afford one).

I also walked by a first edition big Deutsche Rolls. It's even worse in detail than in its awful first impression.