BMW is giving its flagship 7 Series a big fat makeover for 2027. The latest in the company’s onslaught of the “Neue Klasse” redesign of the lineup, the changes to the 7 Series are, at first glance, fairly conservative compared to something like the i3 and iX3, which feel like totally new, groundbreaking design shifts.
That makes sense once you realize this is more of a big refresh than a totally new model. The front end is somehow even more upright and squared off than before, while the rear feels modernized to match up with the lesser Neue Klasse-ified siblings.
The biggest changes have happened under the skin, where the 2027 7 Series has been given a totally new interior loaded up with fancy screens, along with some new battery tech to unlock even more range between charges. Let’s get into it.
Looks Familiar, Right?
At first glance, you might not even notice the front of the 7 Series has changed for 2027. That top-to-bottom kidney grille, which caused quite the stir when it debuted in 2022, is still present and accounted for. This time, it doesn’t slant backward on its upper edge, for a fully vertical design, like two tombstones stacked shoulder to shoulder. Thin-strip daytime running lights are still there, too, while the actual headlight pods below have been reshaped for an upright layout.
The rear end of the new 7 Series is a bit easier to tell apart from the old car. There are still long, horizontal taillight blades on either end, but they’ve been stretched even longer for the 2027 model, mimicking those seen on cars like the i3 and iX3. Unlike a lot of new luxury cars these days, which use a single light strip to connect the two taillight pods into a continuous beam, that isn’t the case here. And that’s pretty refreshing, honestly.
The most interesting part of the new interior is the updated available two-tone finish, or what BMW calls Individual Dual-Finish paintworks. According to the company, it had experts spend two and a half years perfecting the process, which takes 75 hours to complete, or around six times longer than a normal paint job at the factory. From BMW:
More than 20 specially trained employees are involved in a complex process in which the car is prepared manually for each of the 12 steps in the painting process. Among the tasks they carry out are taping the car by hand and sanding down the body to prepare it for the manual painting process. These jobs alone account for nearly half of the work time.
BMW says this process can only be done at its Dingolfing plant in Germany, where cars like the 4 Series and 5 Series are also built. But before you get any bright ideas about optioning a dual-finish black and Laguna Seca Blue on your new M5 Touring, the company says this option is only available for the 7 Series. I reached out about a price for this finish, but a representative didn’t have option or package pricing readily available. Previous two-tone paint jobs on the 7 Series have reportedly cost around $26,000, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a similar price here.
The Inside Will Look Familiar, Too, If You’ve Been Following BMW Reveals
While the outside of the new 7 Series isn’t terribly groundbreaking, the inside has seen some big changes. It has adopted the company’s Neue Klasse cabin setup, which means there is no traditional gauge cluster, digital or otherwise. The screen in front of the steering wheel has been replaced by a head-up display called BMW Panoramic Vision, which projects information onto the base of the windshield, stretching from one A pillar to the other.
The 17.9-inch, rhombus-shaped central infotainment screen is borrowed from the other Neue Klasse cars as well, with one small caveat: It gets its own small, child-like companion screen to the right side of the dashboard. How cute!
It’s called the BMW Passenger Screen because every aspect of the 7 Series interior must have its own name. Measuring 14.6 inches, it’s the first passenger-side screen offered in any BMW production car, and comes standard with every 7 Series going forward. According to the company, the passenger can use it to stream videos and TV, as well as gaming and even music controls. So you don’t have to bring along your iPad for road trips.
The main attraction of the 7 Series interior—the hilariously large, TV-like 31.3-inch “Theater Screen” touchscreen that drops from the ceiling—is still an option for 2027, thankfully. Like before, it has an 8K resolution and even an HDMI input, which means you could theoretically plug in an Xbox or PlayStation and start grinding through Elden Ring while you’re at a charging station. New for this year is a rear-facing camera built into the screen, so you can also take video calls through Zoom, if you’re the professional type.
There Are New Batteries, But The Range Is Meh
Unlike the truly new Neue Klasse i3 and iX3, this refreshed 7 Series, in its two electric trims, isn’t exactly a range beast by modern standards. The last car, with its Gen5 prismatic cells and 101.7-kWh battery, was able to achieve up to 314 miles of range on a charge, which was pretty good for 2022, when it came out, but not terribly far compared to modern competition.
The new i7 models have cells with 20% higher volumetric energy density, unlocking more usable energy content within the same physical battery space. The usable battery is now 112.5 kWh, resulting in a range “in excess” of 350 miles on the EPA cycle, according to BMW estimates (official numbers haven’t been released yet).
While 350 miles isn’t terrible, it’s also a lot less than either the i3 or the iX3, which can go up to 440 miles and 400 miles between charges, respectively. It’s worth noting that the battery packs on those cars are essentially the same size as the one on this new 7 Series, so it sort of makes sense why the bigger, heavier, flagship luxury sedan is a bit worse on overall range.
The nice thing about the 7 Series is that it’s available with gas power, too. The base model, the 740, gets BMW’s now-legendary B58 turbocharged straight six, here making 394 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. If you want even more oomph, there’s the 750e xDrive PHEV, which pairs a detuned version of the B58 making 308 hp to an electric motor built into the transmission. Total output is 483 horses and 516 lb-ft.
If you want the most horsepower, though, you’ll have to stick with EV power. The base i7 50 xDrive makes 449 hp, while the i7 60 xDrive makes 536 hp. Like the last 7 Series, there will no doubt be an M70 version that makes even more power offered down the line. There’s also a hybridized V8-powered gas version on the way, which sounds like it’ll be a fun time.
As for pricing, the gas car is still king. The base 740 starts at $101,350, including a $1,550 destination charge (add $3,000 if you want all-wheel drive). The base i7, meanwhile, comes in at $107,750. And the i7 60 xDrive starts at $126,250. There’s no word on price for the hybrid, though if I had to guess, it’ll probably land somewhere between the AWD 740 and the fancier i7.
Top graphic image: BMW
To me it’s not a flex how many people it takes to do two tone paint. Ford was doing that shit on cheap trucks, it sounds like BMW is just bad at optimizing a known process.
Ok, I do not want one and cannot afford one. That said, the price is a lot less than I was expecting. You could get a well-optioned pickup for about that price and this thing is definitely going to give you more features and comfort than one of those. Still don’t want it, for any price.
Claus Luthe era BMWs looked great, the Paul Braque designs were genius, but BMW has been just piling tacky on ugly on awful on perverse ever since.
I think this sums it up
https://youtu.be/4WdtAj8jYMM
It’s, uh, not a looker… and that dashboard. Not my favorite.
No press photos without the snow blower attached?
The efforts to make the Chris Bangle era seem less offensive are really getting extreme.
The rear, vile, but that’s historical accuracy in a 7-series.
But the odd bit, here, is the ICE is not a PHEV compliance vehicle for those who live in compliance cities that require a certain EV range to be fully exempt.
OMG BMW just STAHP! You used to make elegant, understated, well proportioned and finely detailed cars and now you’re mayor of Awkward & Ugly Douche Design. Snap out of it!
Looks pretty horrible. But I like the sideview with the very clear lines.
Dang that dashboard and steering wheel are awful
I hope I can pay $15k for a “hand painted” roundel
“Let me just plop this screen wherever and we can go out for a drink.”
The designers of that thing which looks like a dog walking backward covered in Wainscoting, must have consumed an entire case of Goldschläger during their lunch break. Pardon me while I pour myself a tall Jim Beam.
If I order the three tone paint, does it take 30 people 4.5 days?
This is an incredibly successful redesign. The 7 series has real presence in person and this new face really amps that up. I’m not sold on the rear lights, which are less distinctive than before.
I don’t mind the new BMW interiors, but that passenger screen is terrible. Audi-levels of design nonsense.
The new EV specs are fine – this is still on the last generation architecture and shared with gas, so expecting the game changing figures of the i3 and iX3 is hoping for too much.
I love that they’re getting the extra range from better density/chemistry. Once range plateaus where consumers are happy (I suspect the i3/iX3 are there already), we can use these improvements to fit smaller batteries. The virtuous cycle of ever smaller/lighter batteries while maintaining range constant will be game changing for EVs.
I guess I’m in the minority, but I don’t hate it. Banish the screens though. I just want a small screen for CarPlay, analog buttons for EVERYTHING.
It will take nobody no time to paint the car I won’t be buying.
Just wait until the leases are up if you want one of these. There is a reason why 7 series tend to go for basically nothing once they are past the warranty: They are a mechanical nightmare on wheels and unless you’re one of those folks benefitting from all of these lovely tax cuts for the upper crust these days good luck,it will drain your wallet.
Can’t get past that fugly grill. Just as well I’m not the target audience, no way I’m spending 6 figures on a car anyway (or can even afford to).
I just threw up looking at those gopher/beaver buck teeth again…
No passenger needs a screen, they don’t get shit…I like the designs from the 70’s like on the Pontiac Grand Prix where half the dash points towards the driver…the passenger doesn’t need to be fucking w/ shit, let alone a screen. Theater screen? Gimmee a fucking break. Enough w/ all these million screens to be glued to. Maybe actually go outside into nature and actually get some fresh air for once? Or in the car, put the windows down, blast the stereo, hit the gas and have a blast cruising around and actually live
Paint might be nice, but still it looks like a dogs breakfast. Only good thing regarding current BMW design, is that it makes 4-series look better in contrast. Still pretty horrible compared to say G30 generation 5-series, but within current lineup.
All I can think is that’s sad. 480 man hours to paint a vehicle that will be mechanically totalled in maybe 5 years. Meanwhile some robot spent 30 minutes and some guy named Steve rubbed down a gmt800 for 15 minutes in 03 and it’s probably still running around. Plus it still looks like it does but I guess no one said you have to have taste if you throw money around like that.
Not a fan of the “beaver teeth” front grill…
It looks like a Chrysler 300
Not in the least. The last Chrysler 300 was an attractive sedan that successfully blended subtle muscularity with visual refinement. This is just awkward mostly, and hideous in the front.
The last Chrysler300 was a pale shade of the initial release which was an ape on the Bentley/Rolls aesthetic – but for the ‘common man’. It was the epitome of the Chinese-clone trope.
If I just sort of scroll past the images and don’t look too closely I almost like it. The overall shape isn’t bad, and the interior is ok for a modern car but the details are just… sorta not great. Maybe bad. Ditch the extra spoke in the steering wheel and the early ’00’s econobox dash layout and I’d be happy with the interior. Dunno what to do about the huge grill sitch though and the rolls-esque squinty headlights though… I guess just approach from the rear?
As my E30 gently weeps.
(Ok, that’s an oil leak, but it’s definitely sad about what’s happened to BMW.)
Record sales? Wildly popular and praised M cars? Stick shift sport sedans and coupes? Performance wagons? The best EVs of any legacy manufacturer?
Idk, I’m cool with “what’s happened” to BMW. They have always innovated and been ahead of the curve, so much so that it’s a now a meme that the last “real” BMWs are always t-10 years.
Ten years is now about a quarter century. Time flies.
Just because some people now think Bangle wasn’t that bad doesn’t mean they were ahead of their time, only that the designs have gotten so much uglier since then that they start to look good. It’s like being somewhere for a long period of time surrounded by ugly people, the less uglies start to look decent.
BMW still tries to sell as if they’re enthusiast vehicles and people still remember when that was actually true, so it’s natural that they’re disappointed when BMW drops another massively overweight, poorly thought out, dairy-shelf life, abominable monstrosity on the world. This thing is visual pollution and should have to pay an ugly tax. The best thing about them is that 7-series have not been popular around here in a long time so I’ll hardly see them.
This kind of thing user to be available on basic cars back when it was an accepted fact that some vehicles sell more than others but it was offered anyway to get as many customers as possible. Unfortunately that doesn’t generate enough value for shareholders, so only privileged elites get anything but monotone vehicles.
Right?
Remember when the two-tone on Grandpa’s Marquis was maybe a $500 option?
Ah…the classic “Grandma Keith!”
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cars/junkyard-treasure-1993-mercury-grand-marquis-ls-44497164
Somehow Chevy can make a 2-tone work on the Equinox (personally love the blue with a white roof). Bonus is that you can buy an entire gently used 2-tone Equinox for less than the price of the BMW paint job
good plan if you want to drive the 6th best vehicle in that class.
You talking about the BMW or the Equinox? 🙂
Yes
equinox