Considering BMW‘s stronghold on the luxury market in general, it may come as a surprise that the current 7-series, its most prestigious sedan, has struggled in recent years to stay up-to-date.
Facing a resurgent Audi with its A8 and Jaguar with its XJ, the latest Mercedes S-Class has also sucked the wind out of the 7-series’ sails with much more advanced technology and boasting more luxury and fuel efficiency. So BMW is going to totally revamp the 7-Series in the next couple years. It’s such an important car that it’s actually going to serve as the basis for all future rear-wheel drive BMWs.
According to AutoNews, the 35up scalable architecture will debut on the next-gen 7 at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show and go on sale in the US between late 2015 and early 2016. The new platform is rumored to use a lot of aluminum, as well as carbon fiber, something we’ve heard talk about recently. And that should go some way into making the 7-series a driver’s car against the stately Mercedes, the way Jaguar was able to change the XJ into when it went aluminum.
There won’t be a range-topping 9-series or coupe version, but the new 7-series should look a lot like the Vision Future Luxury Concept shown this year at the Beijing Auto Show.
But better still, Automotive News points to signs BMW may finally greenlight an M version of the 7. BMW has long been left in the dust by Mercedes and its AMG S-Class models, and Jaguar now has an XJR again. And because an M badge tends to make mouths water and checkbooks open, that move could seriously invigorate 7-series sales in markets such as China, Russia and the Middle East.
Which would be a great thing. The 7 is one of the pillars of the BMW lineup. And as much as they add Gran Coupes here and Gran Turismos there, it’s nice to see the company paying attention to one of its core models.
Let’s hope it’s good. Because the future of the 3 and 5-series cars also depends on it.
By Zac Estrada
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