The BMW ZBF-7er concept was the 7 Series in an alternate universe

BMW has inducted another concept car into its official collection of historic cars. The ZBF-7er was a design study created in the mid-'90s to hone the idea of what a 7 Series should be. It features several elements that are far ahead of their time, as the accompanying video shows.

The video interviews longtime BMW designer Joji Nagashima, a 30-plus-year veteran of BMW design, who designed the ZBF-7er in addition to the iconic E36 3 Series, original Z3 roadster, E39 5 Series and others. As Nagashima explains, ZBF stands for "Zukunft BMW Familie" or "Future BMW Family." At the time, the team was trying to establish the 3, 5 and 7 Series as the brand's core family of vehicles.

While those days may seem long gone, the Siebener (7er in German) concept still predicted quite a few characteristics that have appeared on BMW vehicles since. Perhaps the most noticeable trait is the giant kidney grille, a huge departure from the slim nostrils on the E38 that the ZBF would have replaced. Of course, the elongated openings are tame compared to the controversial ones of the new M3/M4, but we suspect they would've been quite shocking if they'd debuted in 2002.

The ZBF-7er is a large car. It's so big, Nagashima says, that they couldn't find production tires to fit onto the concept. At the time 19-inch wheels were the maximum, so BMW had to ask Dunlop to create custom 20-inch tires with hand-cut treads of Nagashima's own design.