{"id":21070,"date":"2022-04-29T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=21070"},"modified":"2022-04-29T08:00:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T12:00:49","slug":"7-series-designs-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=21070","title":{"rendered":"BMW 7 Series Generations Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you have a long family history like that of the BMW 7 Series<\/a>, it can be difficult living in the shadow of some of the greats. That\u2019s the struggle for this new 7 Series and its all-new design. The G70 7 Series is likely going to be the most luxurious car in its family\u2019s history but its design is a polarizing one. Enthusiasts seem to be arguing about whether its boldness is exciting or disgusting. So we thought it would be good to look back at all generations of 7 Series, to see where this new one ranks among its predecessors.<\/p>\n

There are now seven generations of 7 Series, dating back all the way to 1977, so you can imagine its design has changed quite a bit over the last 45 years. Due to the drastic change in fashion over the course of four decades, it\u2019s hard to judge a car now with a car from the \u201970s. However, it\u2019s important to look back at its lineage, to see where it ranks. So let\u2019s check them all out, in order from worst to best.<\/p>\n

7. E65-Generation<\/h4>\n

I honestly struggled with this one, going back and forth between the E65 7 Series<\/a> and the new G70. The reason I ultimately chose the E65-generation is because of the pre-LCI version. Because we have to judge each generation in its totality, including both the pre-LCI and post-LCI facelift versions, the E65\u2019s initial look is just too shocking. Its blobby headlights and disjointed taillights are just a mess, even today, and haven\u2019t aged well at all. Which is a shame because the post-LCI car is actually looking pretty handsome these days and has aged well, as with most Bangle-era designs. However, the pre-LCI is just rough.<\/p>\n

6. G70-Generation<\/h4>\n

Going into this, I honestly thought I\u2019d rank the G70<\/a> higher than second-to-last, because I honestly don\u2019t hate it. But after seeing each generation of 7 Series side-by-side, I honestly struggled to see one that was worse looking. If it weren\u2019t for the E65\u2019s blobby headlights, the G70 would have ended up in last place. It\u2019s not horrific or anything but it just isn\u2019t good<\/em> looking. I get why it looks the way it does and I honestly don\u2019t hate it but there\u2019s nothing about the new G70 that makes me think \u201cyes, that\u2019s a nice looking piece of design.\u201d The split headlights work but only because everything else is so shockingly large. I\u2019d prefer that weren\u2019t the case and it could use normal BMW headlights. Also, its taillights put me to sleep.<\/p>\n

5. F01-Generation<\/h4>\n

The F01-generation<\/a> 7 Series is like four-wheeled Ambien. There\u2019s nothing interesting about the way it looks, in any way, at all. It looks like it could be a Grand Theft Auto car, just a generic blob of German luxury. There\u2019s nothing particularly ugly<\/em> about it, even if the taillights do look a bit weird, but it\u2019s just not particularly good looking either. It\u2019s just sorta there and, honestly, I forgot it even existed until I wrote this piece. So bottom\/middle of the pack seems about perfect for it.<\/p>\n

4. E32-Generation<\/h4>\n

I have a soft sport for \u201980s German cars but the E32-gen 7 Series<\/a> was never one that spoke to me. Again, much like the F01, there\u2019s nothing really wrong about its design and it isn\u2019t ugly, it\u2019s just boring. And it even lacks the sort of Teutonic strength old \u201970s and \u201980s German cars had. It\u2019s just a pretty standard looking three-box sedan. Even its Hofmeister Kink, one of BMW\u2019s signature designs, is super soft and lame. But it beats out the F01 for at least being a cool \u201980s car.<\/p>\n

3. G11-Generation<\/h4>\n

I remember when the G11 7 Series<\/a> first debuted and everyone called it boring, myself included. Boy, do we wish BMW would give us boring now, right? Looking back at the pre-LCI 7 Series, it\u2019s a really handsome car. Okay, so the hockey stick trim is a bit silly but the rest of it looks really good, with the benefit of hindsight. Its kidney grilles are perfectly proportionate, its headlights are slim and pretty, and even its taillights look good, with the little bar of trim that connects them. In M Sport trim, with the more aggressive front fascia, it looks extra good. Admittedly, the LCI sorta ruined it, with obnoxiously large kidney grilles but you can always just buy a pre-LCI car instead, so it ranks high on this list.<\/p>\n

2. E23-Generation<\/h4>\n

When I think of \u201970s and \u201980s German cars, the E23 7 Series<\/a> is the sort of design that I love. At first glance it\u2019s just a simple three-box sedan but there\u2019s so much more character to it than that. The slight sharknosed grille, upright windows, sharply creased Hofmeister Kink, and the aggressively tapered rear end all make it so interesting looking. It\u2019s simply but stylish and seems both sporty and elegant. I haven\u2019t given the E23 a good look in a long time but looking back at it now, it really is a looker and one of the very best 7 Series designs yet. The original still looks good.<\/p>\n

1. E38-Generation<\/h4>\n

C\u2019mon, was this even up for debate. The E38-gen<\/a> 7 Series is almost universally loved for its near perfect luxury sedan design. While some enthusiasts will claim it\u2019s the best looking luxury sedan in history, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll go that far, as there are some genuinely beautiful Bruna Sacco-designed Mercedes\u2019 from the \u201970s and \u201980s that really stand out too, but I\u2019d argue there hasn\u2019t been a better looking luxury sedan since.<\/p>\n

The E38 debuted in 1994 and it was an instant hit. Its design is timeless, with perfect proportions, simple but crisp lines, perfectly sized kidney grilles with almost matching headlights, and a stance that says it\u2019s every bit as sporty as it is luxurious. Short wheelbase models with the M Sport package, and M Parallel wheels make my knees weak. Just gorgeous.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

So there it is, there\u2019s our official 7 Series design ranking and the new G70 doesn\u2019t do too well when ranked among its predecessors. Now, if we did interiors, it\u2019d be an entirely different ballgame. Maybe we\u2019ll have to do that one next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you have a long family history like that of the BMW 7 Series, it can be difficult living in the shadow of some of the greats. That\u2019s the struggle for this new 7 Series and its all-new design. The G70 7 Series is likely going to be the most luxurious car in its family\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":21071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}