Munich. With the unveiling of the BMW Concept X7
iPerformance at the IAA Cars 2017 show in Frankfurt, the BMW Group is
not only pulling back the covers on a new model concept for the luxury
segment, it is also introducing a whole new take on luxury for the BMW
brand. The Concept X7 iPerformance embodies this understanding of
luxury in the form of a striking exterior composed of intently focused
lines, and combines it with a generously-sized, six-person interior
pared down to the essentials: elementary forms, high-class materials
and a state-of-the-art infotainment system brimming with connectivity.
The Concept’s iPerformance badge denotes the presence of
groundbreaking BMW eDrive technology allied with a BMW TwinPower Turbo
petrol engine to create an exceptionally efficient and dynamic plug-in
hybrid powertrain that excels in all driving situations – including
running with zero local emissions.
A taster of the production version.
This study car offers a look ahead to the future production model set
to make its debut in 2018. The forthcoming BMW X7 forms part of the
largest model offensive in the company’s history. As part of its
NUMBER ONE NEXT strategy, the BMW Group is seeking to
substantially increase its sales and revenues in the luxury class. The
BMW X7 has a key role to play here, as Ian Robertson, Member of the
BMW AG Management Board responsible for Sales and Brand BMW explains:
“Since BMW founded the Sports Activity Vehicle segment with the first
X5 back in 1999, every subsequent X vehicle has broken new ground. The
BMW X7 continues this tradition: the X family’s new top model extends
BMW’s offering in the luxury class and redefines the concept of luxury
for the BMW brand and beyond. It also embodies one of the most
important elements of our corporate strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT, to
grow our presence in the luxury class. Furthermore, the BMW Concept X7
demonstrates it’s perfectly possible to combine a large sports
activity vehicle with an electrified drivetrain.”
A case study in modernity, luxury and presence.
The status of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance as a luxury-class BMW
SAV is instantly apparent. The spectacular exterior, imposing
dimensions and skilfully judged proportions endow it with an
extraordinary sense of presence and an ultra-modern aesthetic fused
with innate dynamism. “The Concept introduces the BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle DNA into the luxury segment. The new BMW design language
employs just a few, extremely precise lines and subtle surface-work to
raise the bar in terms of presence and prestige,” explains Adrian van
Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The BMW Concept X7
iPerformance has a luxurious and sophisticated feel to it, thanks to
its understated use of forms and incredibly precise details.”
The luxurious character of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance is brought
alive by its cabin, in particular. The vehicle’s sheer size forms the
basis for an interior experience unmatched by any BMW past or present.
As a result of the interplay between precise, pared-down forms and an
open sense of space, the driver and passengers find themselves
immersed in a very modern setting with an equally exclusive feel. The
wealth of possibilities offered by personalised, digital connectivity
allows the vehicle’s interior to be turned, as desired, into a
personalised place of either retreat or productivity.
A contemporary feeling of lightness in the interior.
Inside the roomy cabin of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance, clear
forms, warm colours and select materials combine to create a highly
exclusive, sophisticated ambience. In addition, the large panoramic
roof provides a remarkable amount of room above the occupants’ heads
while also giving the interior a light and airy, open-to-the-sky feel.
The six amply proportioned seats are arranged in three rows, and four
of them have an exclusive individual design. Secured to the vehicle
floor by nothing more than a slender seat base, the individual seats
allow those sitting directly behind to enjoy generous legroom. The
dark, olive-bronze leather – with discreet gold pigmentation –
covering the seat bolsters carries the air of exclusivity through to
the finer details and the Smoke White leather adorning the remainder
of the seats provides an intriguing contrast. The shell-like backs of
the individual seats are likewise trimmed in leather and serve to
enhance the high-class, contemporary ambience.
A perfect ensemble of materials and colour.
The dark shoulder line running underneath the windows traces a
continuous horizon throughout the cabin that brings fresh calmness to
the bright interior. Decorative materials are deployed sparingly.
Having said that, the selective use of open-pore ash in a
dark-stained, matt finish sets the seal on the natural material
experience. Matt and polished aluminium elements have likewise been
carefully incorporated to add further classy touches. And the
luxurious sense of spaciousness enjoyed from all seats is reinforced
to subtle effect by strands of laser light in the roof and the dynamic
ambient and contour lighting.
Minimalist forms in the driver’s cabin.
Amid the modern and pared-back design of the interior is the driver
focus familiar to BMW customers. The forms and surfacing of the
instrument panel, centre console and doors allow them to “wrap around”
the driver. And the raised seating position provides unbeatable
all-round visibility and an exceptional view over the road. The new
BMW design language, featuring amply-sized surfaces and clear edges,
gives the instrument panel a “reduced to the essentials”, modern
aesthetic. The 12.3-inch instrument cluster screen and central
touchscreen information display are sited at close quarters to one
another. The effect is of one unbroken – and smartly sophisticated –
display. A new operating concept allows interactive use of the two
displays. Below them, in the centre stack and centre console, the
grouping of functions within the clean and tautly chiselled surfaces
underscores the minimalist approach. Partially backlit crystal glass
in the dark Silver Night shade lends sophisticated flourishes to
control elements like the selector lever, iDrive Controller and
multifunction buttons on the steering wheel.
Personalised infotainment through the seamless integration of
the owner’s digital world into the car.
The two individual seats in the second row offer all the benefits of
the front pair. The first sign of an attachment between the panoramic
roof and body comes comfortably to the rear of the second row of seats
in the form of a Y structure, which means the passengers in the centre
row experience the same sensation of freedom and lightness as those in
the front. Second-row passengers also enjoy personalised infotainment
comfort courtesy of the rear-seat entertainment system’s touchscreen
monitors. Here, the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance showcases the BMW
Group’s vision of seamless integrating the customer’s digital world
into the car via BMW Connected. For example, passengers here have
access to highly personalised, digital services such as their choice
of infotainment / office content, with which they can make their
journey more comfortable, more entertaining or more productive. And
content can even be shared with others on board. For instance, they
can send a track to the car’s music system by touch gesture, forward
an interesting article to the next-door display for the person sitting
alongside them to read or transfer an address from their email
directly to the car’s navigation system. Interactive LED choreography
via the doors and instrument panel traces the communication flow
between the rear screens and the display at the front of the cabin.
Impressive size and presence – the exterior.
The expansive exterior of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance projects
the exclusive experience available inside the car confidently to the
outside world. Clear, vertical proportions with significant ground
clearance identify the Concept as an X model without the need to look
twice. At the same time, the Concept speaks its own, unmistakeable
design language – a new one for BMW – through an array of details and
design features which set it apart clearly from previous models.
Viewed from any angle, the interplay between a small number of precise
lines and artfully sculpted surfaces sends out a charismatic statement
of modernity, presence and exclusivity.
A new face in the BMW X family.
The front end of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance is one of its most
eye-catching angles, the vehicle’s height alone ensuring it rises
prominently over the road. In an all-new interpretation of classical
BMW elements, the front-end design groups together the various facets
of the vehicle into a powerful visual statement. The large, vertical
kidney grille at the heart of the upright front-end silhouette hogs
the attention. The grille frame and bars are single-piece and solid in
design, as if hewn from a single piece. Look at it again, though, and
fascinating contrasts emerge between gleaming edges and matt surfaces,
all of which breathes extra vibrancy and class into the frontal impression.
The upper sections of the slim, elongated twin headlights with BMW
laser light link to the large kidney grille. A blue X signature in BMW
laser light provides a confident pointer to the Concept’s membership
of the SAV family from BMW. The headlights and kidney grille combine
to create an exciting contrast of horizontal dynamism and vertical
solidity, bringing traditional BMW front-end design cues into the
future. Large, tautly sculpted surfaces surround the familiar BMW
design icons, underlining the car’s cohesive and muscular front-end aesthetic.
A prominent bar extends across the full width of the front apron in
its lower section, before rising vertically to frame the outer air
intakes at their upper edge. This lends the front end additional
stature. Quasi-vertical aero lips further accentuate the car’s
powerfully assured stance on the road. Customary X features like the
trapezoidal bumpers and underguard, meanwhile, are merely hinted at,
their understated design serving the cause of clear and exclusive surfacing.
Impressive proportions.
From the side, the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance cuts a sumptuous
figure, complete with the characteristic ground clearance of X
vehicles. The nigh-on vertical front end, striking and almost vertical
rear and steeply rising angle from the rear wheels to the tailgate
give the muscular proportions a modern flourish. The high-set lines of
the flanks bring an expressive confidence to the car’s silhouette. And
the long shoulderline stretches the car and injects an athletic
tension to the flanks. It also separates the car’s body into the light
and airy glasshouse (which offers a preview of the large interior) and
the muscular metal forms.
For the first time in an X vehicle, the wheel arches feature a
circular cut and emphasize the exclusivity and elegance of the flanks.
Smart and precise surfacing absorbs the powerful wheel arches in an
aesthetic movement. The surfaces gain in volume and strength as they
head towards the rear end, further underscoring the subtle dynamism of
the car when viewed from the side.
Bold accents in the flanks
A conspicuous chrome strip in the door sills provides an exclusive
counterpoint to the car’s long, stretched shoulderline and
sophisticated surfaces below. As with the trim element at the front
end, the chrome strip in the car’s flanks frames the Air Breathers in
a vertical accent, before continuing in a straight line to the rear
end. These surrounds for the front, side and rear air apertures create
a geometrically precise impression and lend the car a sense of robust solidity.
The exclusive exterior colour shade Manhattan metallic immerses the
car’s surfaces and forms in a dark olive-bronze that highlights the
confident styling of the flanks with sophisticated flair. With their
bold multi-spoke design, the 23-inch light-alloy wheels combine the
muscularity for which BMW’s X models are renowned with the exclusivity
of a luxury BMW sedan, while aerodynamically optimised inlays between
the spokes reduce drag. Added to which, conspicuous aero lips at the
front and rear also ensure improved airflow around those areas of the
car and send out a powerful visual message of the plug-in hybrid drive
concept’s efficiency. A bird’s-eye view of the BMW Concept X7
iPerformance reveals a particular highlight. Like the side window
surrounds, the panoramic roof is framed by an eye-catching chrome
strip, which extends from one A-pillar to the rear end – and back
around the other side. In between, the roof’s transparent, Y-shaped
supporting structure adds a modern flourish.
Power, presence and exclusivity at the rear.
The rear of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance sends out an impressive
statement of powerful authority and exclusive elegance. The imposing
size of the vehicle’s body – the key to its huge swathes of interior
space – is particularly clear when viewed from the rear. Vertical aero
lips mark out the rear of the car clearly from the flanks. Within the
upright rear silhouette, the slim rear lights break up the body
volumes and a classy chrome bar connects the two lighting elements.
The boldly designed lights create a three-dimensional L shape and
bring a technical, high-quality flavour to the rear. As at the front
of the car, the surfaces frame the lights like jewels. Between the
wheel arches, the rear apron with practical tailgate opening provides
a strong platform for the rear structure. The absence of tailpipe
embellishers in the rear apron is an indicator of the vehicle’s
plug-in hybrid drive concept. And the subtle, body-coloured underguard
ensures the rear concludes its progress towards the road in stylish fashion.
Distinctive brand presence for BMW’s luxury-segment cars.
As part of its forthcoming model offensive, BMW has developed a new
presence for its luxury cars that sees the profile and positioning of
the most exclusive members of its range refined into a distinct
product category.
The new BMW 8 Series, new BMW X7, BMW i8 and new BMW i8 Roadster will
join the BMW 7 Series in the brand’s significantly expanded luxury
segment line-up. The identity and attitude shared by BMW’s elite
models are echoed in a newly designed logo which combines a
black-and-white version of the manufacturer’s roundel first used 100
years ago with the company name “Bayerische Motoren Werke” written out
in full.
With its classical, understated aesthetic and the company’s original
name spelt out, the logo highlights BMW’s inimitable history. The
boldness to explore standalone solutions and concepts, and the ability
to take on challenges and emerge from them stronger, are deeply-rooted
elements of BMW heritage. This approach – encompassing everything from
the first altitude-world-record-breaking aero engine to the launch of
the BMW i brand – has proven to be a recipe for success, as well as
showcasing the company’s passion, confidence and gift for bringing the
future into the present day. The new presence for the brand’s
luxury-segment models will be unveiled for the first time at the IAA
Cars 2017 show in Frankfurt on 14 – 24 September 2017.