Despite much criticism of the enormous, buck-toothed twin-kidney grille that made its debut on the X7 concept, BMW seems to be fond of the design. So much so that it’s not just arriving on the production X7 and probably the next X5, it’s also influencing a refresh of the 7 Series flagship sedan. The spy shots shown above reveal that the big sedan’s kidneys have adopted the look, which is further exaggerated by the slimmer, sleeker headlights flanking the grille.
Fans of the current 7 Series don’t have much else to worry about on the outside, though. Everything in the middle appears to be untouched. At the back, the taillights have basically the same shape and size as the current model, but with revised lighting elements under the lenses.
Inside, things are still pretty much the same as the current one, at least until you look at the instrument panel. It’s a completely flat screen, missing the circular trim rings used on many BMW instrument screens to achieve a blended physical and digital look. It fits inside an angular housing, too. The close-up shot shows that the gauges now follow the lines of the angular housing for a very modern, aggressive design. It’s a drastic departure from BMW’s traditional, simple round dials.
One other interesting thing to note in the interior is the V12 badge. Combined with the split tailpipes and covered C-pillar badge on the outside, we suspect this might be an M760i, so it’s a safe assumption that the trim will continue with the refreshed design.
Since this is a fairly mild refresh, we would expect to see the production version revealed no later than next auto show cycle toward the end of this year and the beginning of next. It will probably be either a 2019 or 2020 model.
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