Update May 15, 2014: Speaking at the 94th Annual General Meeting of BMW AG in Munich today, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG again confirmed that the next generation 7 Series (G11) will make use of carbon fiber in its construction:
"BMW i is the spearhead of innovation within the company, with lightweight construction playing a central role. We are now also applying this expertise to other series models. Customers already appreciate the carbon-fibre roofs in our BMW M models. I can also reveal that we will use carbon fibre in the next BMW 7 Series. Its low weight will set a very high standard for the segment."
Original post:
It's no secret that BMW has been on the forefront of weight reduction in volume production vehicles. Starting with their tie-up SGL Group and development of the BMW i vehicles, they have been finding great use for carbon fibre in weight reduction. The key to this is
carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). While this highly touted material is being used in the BMW i vehicles, it has yet to make its way into a series production BMW, until now...
And so it makes sense that the BMW 7-Series (usually the most cutting edge and forward looking BMW on the tech front) will be the first series vehicle to use this magical material in key areas to reduce weight, and thereby increase efficiency. As the use of this material will be a key selling point for the new model, it makes sense that the exact weight savings will remain guarded information until we are closer to the full reveal.
Slated as a 2016 model, the next 7-Series will fall under the G11 chassis code and will likely be shown off sometime in 2015.
What's new today
Today's set of spy photos show the upcoming 7 in a similar amount of body camouflage, what is notable is that the car now appears to wear all the production reading parts underneath. This car is now fitted with parts previously mising, such as a production quality polished and stylized dual oval exhaust recessed into a properly cut rear bumper, production side skirts, front bumper and large kidney grills. Fans of cohesive styling will also rejoice, it seems the hood cut line runs along with the kidney grills and headlights.
A Hot 7?
While what we see here is a "standard" 7-Series, there have been persistent rumors that this upcoming G11 7er will be the first to usher in the ///M treatment, in the form of ///M Performance. The exact engine configuration and power-output on the would be performance model is still in the realm of guesswork, but all signs have been pointing to an M770i xDrive variant. When more solid word comes, we will let you know!
Updated with new video: