Let’s all be honest and admit the adjacent rendering would’ve seemed preposterous not that many years ago. Although created by an independent artist, the BMW i7 digital design exercise is based on the official teaser published earlier this week. It doesn’t necessarily mean the real deal will be identical, but it can’t be too far from the truth either.
Yes, the i7 and its combustion-engined 7 Series sibling will have quite an unconventional front design. We’re not just talking about the split headlight layout itself since this arrangement has been around for many years. BMW did decide to go a different way by “hiding” the main clusters (low/high beams) behind a tinted panel. The latter is barely visible on the Concept XM where it’s surrounded by a glossy black section of the bumper.
The 7 Series G70 together with its EV counterpart will seemingly follow the XM in that regard. However, it’s best to wait until April 20 when the fullsize luxury sedans are going to be officially revealed. The massive grille of the plug-in hybrid SUV is a certainty, even if it won’t be a carbon copy of the concept’s imposing pair of kidneys.
The XM had a more angular contour of the grille, which just like with the i7, was illuminated. The roundel was backlit as well, and both had small daytime running lights. However, the DRLs were wide strips on the new 7er whereas the concept had two separate elements shaped like triangles.
We’re fairly certain BMW will differentiate the two models in terms of front fascia design. Lest we forget the facelifted X7 will also adopt the split headlight layout. That’s not to say all future vehicles will because the 5 Series/i5 has already been spotted with a normal fascia. It’s too soon to exemplify which additional future models will have this radical look, but we do know the X1/iX1 won’t be one of them. The compact crossover was teased earlier this week with conventional one-piece lights.
Source: SRK Designs / YouTube
