“Don’t look at these. They aren’t real. What is even real anymore, anyway?” is what BMW would probably what you to say upon seeing these images of their as-yet unannounced X7 Concept that’s due to be shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show next week, which have surfaced online.
BMW will have quite a few concept cars over at its surely sprawling booth there, what with the 8 Series, the Z4 Concept, an all-new M5, a mystery electric vehicle from their ‘i’ division, and now this X7. As we suspected it to be, it does indeed look like a larger and more austere X5, fitting of a flagship SUV.
Only here we have positively huge nostrils up front (can we stop calling them kidney grilles now?), large air intakes on either side of the fascia, a smaller and more discreet charging port on the front left hand portion for its eDrive hybrid powertrain, and plenty of satin finished metals to highlight the door frame, pseudo roof rails, and side vents. Large wheels are present too, as is requisite in concept cars.
The futuristic styling is even more evident on the inside, with a more minimal take on the BMW instrument layout but admittedly still looks very achievable for 2017. Though, ironically, the steering wheel has become much busier, and so has the centre tunnel are around the gear selector.
Cream white and dark brown are mixed here, and that same two-tone motif is beautifully lit by the full length panoramic glass roof, a view oddly obstructed by a Y-shaped structural brace - surely for reasons that involve handling and body roll resistance.
What else do we know about the X7 Concept? Nothing concrete. Of course we will have more to say on the matter once the curtains are pulled over in Frankfurt next week, but right now all we can do is speculate that many or most of the under-the-skin stuff - including engines - will be plucked from the G11 7 Series luxury sedan.
BMW, until today, hasn’t really had a good answer to its direct competitors in the same way that they’ve matched every other model (pretty much) when it came to cars like the Audi Q7, Range Rover, and Mercedes-Benz GLS. It’s also interesting to watch how those latter automakers respond.
Things look good for the Munich bunch, though, but they might want to tell their designers to stop basing the front end of their cars on the world’s most flared nostrils.
For more on BMW cars, check out our Showroom.
