The E65 BMW 7 series - dubbed as the most controversial automobile in recent memory - has been facelifted. All 2006 models will get standard Xenon headlights; standard headlight cleaning; clear indicator lights, and BMW's two-stage Brake Force display. The optional CD changer can now play MP3-encoded files. The rear track of all cars has been widened by 14mm, both for more positive handling and to fill the rear wheel arches.
The transmission remains the six-speed automatic with Steptronic. All engines are revised except for the 760i's V12, with a 360hp 750i replacing the 325hp 745i and promising 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds. New cars are expected to arrive in dealerships in May.
Automobear.com notes that "the Bavarian Bruiser has barely changed," going on to suggest reasons for why the facelift has been marginal, despite the controversy surrounding the car's design. Among those reasons: BMW's attitude toward focus groups, its response to ideas that its strategy needed to be changed, and the numbers themselves.
Indeed, despite its polarizing looks, the E65 7er has been the most successful luxury flagship in BMW history. 160,000 have been sold so far, 8% over the total sales of the previous-generation E38 7er. In its most successful year, 2003, it managed 57,899 units worldwide.
BMW's 7 series has been with us since the first-generation E23 in 1978. The 1988-1994 E32 drew the car visually closer to the 5 series, and the 1995-2001 E38 continued in that mold. Some called it superfluous to the 5er but, until the turn of the Millennium, the E38 sold an average of 50,000 cars per year.
As BMW saw things, it was time for a change. The competition was growing stronger. In addition, Mercedes-Benz's S-Class has dominated the market for decades, with superior identity and far lower depreciation. Only as the previous-generation, somewhat bulky W140 S-Class neared replacement did BMW ever beat its sales figures in the U.S. When the new S-Class debuted for 2000, it quickly began outselling the 7 series again (this time, by 2-to-1).
So BMW opted to lead design for the first time in decades, entering new visual territory as opposed to simply being copied. In the Fall of 2001, this car heralded a revolutionary, instead of an evolutionary, approach. We saw a BMW that attempted to completely re-think its strategy, giving its flagship a more unique identity and pushing the prices of the E65 7 series closer to those of the S-Class. The 7er had always been a cheaper car. Now, BMW pushed its most profitable vehicle into contention.
Now, on the eve of a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class or S-concept(potentially to be launched in Geneva), the 7 series has been facelifted in preparation to run through the 2008 model year.
"For better or worse," writes Miro from AutomoBear.com, "BMW achieved its continually enviable reputation by telling people what to like - rather than following. The 7er may have been the company's first car to do this overtly (i.e: stylistically and ergonomically), but the general gist is clear: this car, facelifted or not, continues to fly in the face of focus groups."
Courtesy of Automobear.com