Super luxury cars — the full-size sedans that serve as the flag-bearers for luxury automakers — are marvels of modern engineering. The best of them accelerate like tiny sports coupes but offer exceedingly comfortable accommodations for four or five adults. They carry every high-tech amenity modern automakers can think of. And they cocoon their drivers in opulent surroundings while soaking up the blows of rough roads so well that the ride is as smooth as flight.
A new one is big news, if not because millions will buy it, because it shows what the best automakers can do if given a CEO’s budget.
The 2024 BMW 7 Series will be the next ultra-luxe sedan to bow. It will bring immense screens, immense nostrils, and an electric option for the environmentally conscious mogul.
That Huge Grille? It’s Growing
BMW hasn’t shown off the car in full but sent out teaser photos this week, giving us a glimpse of what’s to come. We expect prices to range from the low $90,000s to upwards of $200,000 fully loaded.
Though the car sits shrouded in shadow (automaker teasers this year all look like Batman did the art direction), we can tell that BMW has decided the best response to criticism is to double down. The brand’s latest designs use a controversial, huge interpretation of its traditional twin-kidney grille. Critics haven’t loved it, so BMW just made it bigger for the 7. This thing looks like it’s flaring its nostrils to charge at you for criticizing its schnozz.
Narrow headlights flank the big grille. A rhino squints as it charges.
Curved Screens and Movie Screens
BMW has given just two narrow glimpses of the cabin. One shows the rear-seat passenger’s view. A huge, curved screen hangs down from the roof. The company showed off this “theater screen” at the CES consumer electronics show in January.
Looking through the backs of the front seats, you can make out a curved display screen in front of the driver that takes the place of the traditional instrument bezel. A detail of the dashboard shows a screen dedicated to the front passenger, embedded in a cool fractal light pattern.
BMW hasn’t disclosed powertrain specs but does tell us that an electric i7 version will be available. Rival Mercedes-Benz designed an entirely separate electric flagship, the EQS, to sell alongside its S-Class super-luxury sedan. BMW will apparently not go down that route, instead offering an electric drivetrain option for the 7 Series. It will, however, be the most powerful option. Engineers predict a range of over 300 miles.
We expect to learn more about the 7 Series in April.
