The 2023 BMW 7-Series Is Bangle-Era Shock and Awe All Over Again

If you spent any time around cars in the early 2000s, you know the E65-generation 7-Series. Revealed during the 2001 Frankfurt Auto Show, it was a design, spearheaded by Chris Bangle, that would change the car world's landscape forever. Its hypermodern rear end and a questionable fascia drew endless criticism at the time, as it was massive step away from the reserved, elegant E38 that preceded it. Many thought the car would be a sales flop. Instead, it paved the way for modern car design for the next decade and beyond. It feels like this sort of revolution is about to happen again with the 2023 7-Series.

BMW's design department tends to lose its mind every now and again. But often times, it leads to the company's benefit. The E65 was a sales success, as were many of the other designs released under Bangle's watch. While the ridiculousness has been scaled back since, it's starting to return to the forefront of Bavaria's lineup in the form of gigantic vertical double-coffin-shaped grilles that dominate the bumpers of the 4-Series, M3, M4, i4, and now, the 7-Series. And just like before, the media is up in arms with the company's approach.

Like the E38-generation 7-Series, the outgoing G11-generation 7-Series currently on sale has a subdued, timeless look. It's classy, but also a bit boring. And in a world where speed has been commoditized by electric skateboards and screens are everywhere, the last thing a company needs is a car that doesn't visually stand out.

In a preview event for the 7-Series in New York, BMW head of design Domagoj Dukec described the new car as having a "clean monolithic shape" that was "unmistakably a BMW.” Whether you agree is subjective, but it's clear that the company is rapidly evolving its cosmetic identity. Which cars are "unmistakably" BMW to you might not align with anything in its showroom soon. And Dukec knows this. He wants the company to be a leader in design, not a follower. So change is necessary. Which means BMW has to take some risks.

“First never follows, and you have to go somewhere, right?" He told us back in 2021. "Maybe it’s in an uncomfortable direction. And this is the risk you have to take if you want to stay relevant in the future as a leader and as a pioneering company."