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05-08-2015, 03:36 AM | #1 |
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A West Coast Perspective on the G11/12 7 Series Private Reveal
Featured on BIMMERPOST.com Too bad because the whole thing was very impressive. We were told to park in a reserved parking lot and boarded a shuttle that whisked us away through the winding roads above Laguna Beach. The home where the event was held was beautiful with an outdoor pavilion dedicated to the 7. As well there was a B6 Gran Coupe, i8, and i3 to add more fuel to the fire. Apparently BMW is covering the areas of the U.S. where the 7er sells best such as LA/OC, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, NY-Tri State, etc. We were able to roam around the home and admire the infinity pool that overlooked the Pacific while sipping on wine and snacking on h'ors deurves. After about 45 minutes there was an announcement for us to convene around the covered 7 series to be prepared for the reveal. My first impression of the car under the cover is that the new 7er is very large. Like almost Rolls-Royce Ghost large. Peter Miles (Vice President of BMW NA) came up and introduced himself while pressing the fact that we are part of a handful of people in the world who are the first to see the new 7er. After a little more "fluff," two ladies pulled the cover off to reveal a space grey 750i. My first impression is that the exterior is much less angular and more "organic." The front end resembles the F30 3er with both headlights meeting two very large kidney grills. There is a lot of BMW's Vision Future Concept in this car in the front end and the LED light design mirrors that of the LCI F30. The side chrome trim is one long piece of trim and the traditional hofmeister kink is still there. The weakest part of the exterior is the rear end. It's very generic and almost Korean like in its appearance. It has soft organic lines that is an evolution of the F01. It's sort of a cross between an F01 and some pseudo luxury Hyundai. The best part of this car is the interior and all the new tech. A lot of the gadgets are a gimmick but I am truly surprised at how well BMW executed the interior. The S Class, for me, is the standard of this class but BMW has done so well that I may have the nerve to say this is now the new standard. The quality of materials are top notch and there are a lot of S Class like switchgear that is so un BMW-like with the lack of hard black plastic. There is a rear seat package that comes with a Samsung tablet to allow further control of certain functions along with a dual panoramic sunroof that is standard in the US. The cool feature about this is that there are 15,000 laser etched holes in a cover that reflects the ambient color chosen. You now have the option to also have the ambient lighting turned on behind the Bowers & Wilkins metal speaker grills with the LEDs making snail like shapes to reflect the shape of the speaker. The overall layout is an evolution of a BMW interior with a driver oriented dash with the transmission gear selector remaining on the center console. There are a lot of screens including the A/C control now being touch screen and the new fifth generation iDrive being touch screen as well. The gesture control actually works really well and there are a ton more cameras than what we already have. There is a camera that gives a 3D perspective around the car so now one can see a 3D view of the curb, thus, curb rashes are now a thing of the past. The transmission also reads the roads in the navigation to prepare down shifts when there is an upcoming curve. There was no mention of the remote parking so I am thinking this feature will not be available for the North American market. If the W222 S Class has a certain feature, the new 7 has it as well. BMW claimed that there are 25 features that are never before seen in any automobile. There is also a cabin fragrance button, similar to the S class. BMW supposedly teamed up with a French perfumery to come up with unique scents. I would dare say that the new 7er is more technologically advanced than the S class for the most part but now the next step would be to drive the car. The car will be arriving stateside later this fall.
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05-09-2015, 04:20 AM | #2 |
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One of the most awaited cars for me after the 2013 Range Rover and the F85 X5M.
I just hope every one shares the same opinion. I've read many threads and many opinions contrast. Some say it's more of an evolution rather than revolution and were not impressed, others like yourself were more fond of the car. Personally I have extremely high expectations for the 7er especially after the S class was announced. Providing anything less than spectacular would be a failure for BMW. All I can say is I cannot wait until it is officially revealed. Let's just hope they stick to their original plan (to reveal it in June). |
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05-09-2015, 01:30 PM | #3 | |
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I was there yesterday- that house was spectacular. The new 7 is beyond amazing and I'd probably skip looking at the A8/S-class and go directly to the BMW shop for this car. That being said, I got hooked on the i8 they had on display. That and the candied bacon churros. |
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05-13-2015, 05:24 PM | #4 |
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I went as well! Such a cool event. And i agree. I was very skeptical as to whether or not it would compare to the s550, but it definitely does, and exceeds it at that.
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05-13-2015, 05:26 PM | #5 |
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I was in attendance of this event myself and I have to say the vehicle looks spectacular and the technology and design is truly new compared to everything else we currently have. The leaked images that are floating around really don't do the car justice.
My personal favorite was the M-Sport model that was there in white. Definitely a looker and when they told me 0-60 comes in 4.3 seconds, I was sold. |
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05-13-2015, 05:57 PM | #8 |
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I was also one of the lucky ones to see the new 7-Series yesterday, although I was part of the unveiling at a house in Beverly Hills. Interestingly, they told us the paparazzi was trying to take pictures of the car so they made us "huddle" around the car when it was unveiled to help shield the car. I found that funny considering there are pics of the final exterior on the web but it was interesting nonetheless.
I agree with everything that was said by the OP but I do want to add that I felt like the interior, albeit it a huge step up from the current 7-Series, was still about 1/2 notch below the S-Class, particularly when it came to the seats (they're just not quite as nice as the S-Class). They did a fantastic job with the interior in general, especially the rear seats, but the seats still look like they are a notch down. I also think they lost an opportunity to further evolve the center stack, as it is very similar to the current 7-Series but with some extra chrome. I will say that the new iDrive interface is great, as the touchscreen worked almost as well as a typical tablet and was very fast. While some of the online pics do seem underwhelming, I do think that this car needs to be seen in-person, especially for the interior, before judgement is properly made. But I will say that I think the exterior is not enough of a change compared to the current 7-Series (the back end isn't bad but it's just not very different) and I think it will seem old pretty quickly. But I give BMW full credit for bringing the car as a whole pretty close to on par with the S-Class. |
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05-13-2015, 07:36 PM | #11 |
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I saw the car today. BMWs West Coast distribution center is right next to my store. I see all the new cars coming out
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05-13-2015, 08:30 PM | #14 | |
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05-13-2015, 09:07 PM | #15 |
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It's going to be exactly like the leaked photos of the blue 730, which doesn't meet the expectations. But I can't wait to see a B7 of the G11 or even an M-sport version for that matter. And with all the new cool tech upgrades on the interior, should be a fierce competitor to the S8/S63........
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05-13-2015, 09:28 PM | #16 | |
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Also, the M-Sport definitely looked better than the base model, as there is a much more aggressive front spoiler now vs the current 7-Series. Unfortunately the side profile + rear aren't much different on the M-Sport but the wheels were nicer (5-star look but bent 5-star spokes). Anyhow, trust me when I tell you that you really need to see it inside and out IN PERSON first, as I also hate the 730 pics that were released online... |
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05-13-2015, 10:37 PM | #17 |
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I got invited as well! Sadly I'm back at school in Baltimore and my parents aren't the car enthusiast type to go even though I sent them my invite.
Thanks for the review though. The interior seems promising; can't wait to see it!
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05-14-2015, 02:05 AM | #19 |
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Sounds like another disappointment. Somehow BMW just can't get 7-series right. It all starts with exterior design and it appears to be executed in a safe (boring) way reminiscent of a 3-series.
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05-14-2015, 02:40 AM | #20 | |
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05-14-2015, 05:09 AM | #21 |
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Lot of promise here. Sad that you are confirming the Hyundai rear end from the leaked photos.
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05-14-2015, 06:43 AM | #22 |
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I'm curious how many of these reviews on here that are all positive are paid for. Seeing spy shots, the car had gotten nothing but negative reactions. It's interesting that this review is very similar to that of the Miami review
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