- 14,657
- The UK
- JASON_ROCKS1998
- JR98 GAMING
The fourth generation of the BMW 7 Series, with the E65 chassis designation, went on sale in 2001 and was the first BMW to use different chassis numbers for different variants (E66 LWB, E67 HS & E68 H7). It was introduced at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show alongside the E63 X5. In order to produce the E65, BMW completely retooled the BMW Dingolfing plant for €500,000,000.
Upon release the new 7 Series was met with sharp criticism for its controversial looks as well as the steep learning curve presented by the new iDrive system. So unimpressed was the market with the new car that sales of remaining E38 stock increased markedly after the launch. Despite the initial quality problems and customer gripes the E65 7 Series became the best-selling generation of this full-size luxury sedan, further enhanced by a facelift in 2006.
Under the direction of Chris Bangle, BMW's Design Chief at the time, the arrival of the BMW E65 7 Series heralded a new styling era for BMW. The design of the new car contrasted dramatically with the styling on the BMW E38 7 Series. The BMW E65 7 Series' two-level rear end styling with separate rear fenders for a "bustle-back" boot lid was derisively known as the "Bangle Butt" by critics. In fact, van Hooydonk's original sketch in 1998 for the BMW E65 was much more of a radical sleek fastback, but the final E65 profile was toned down considerably to a more conventional three-box sedan. Bangle was widely criticised for the radical departure of the styling from the BMW E38 7 Series. He was however supported by the BMW board of directors, who wanted to move BMW's image into the future.
Dan Neil of The Los Angeles Times named the new 7-series one of the '50 Worst Cars of All Time', but Bangle argued that BMW’s established design language was exhausted. Despite the initially poor public reception of the two-level rear end, the design was later incorporated by Mercedes-Benz into the design of the W221 generation S-Class in 2006 and also by Huindai in the fourth-generation Azera.
The interior of the BMW E65 7 Series features a generous amount of genuine wood trim & was redesigned to address both the driver and passenger, unlike the traditional driver-focussed instrument panel in the BMW E38 7 Series. BMW removed the traditional console mounted gear selector replacing it with a steering-column mounted stalk, in favour of two cup holders. The seats adjustment controls were moved from their traditional place on the side of the seat base to the inside of the raised central console, which several reviewers complained about the unnecessarily complicated nature of the controls. Peeling paint and textured materials are a well documented problem, so BMW addressed this issue by using still higher quality paint in the LCI model.
The BMW E65 7 Series was the most technically advanced production vehicle BMW had ever produced at the time. As the flagship model, it introduced a large number of new technologies that were eventually carried over to the next generation of BMW's. The BMW E65 7 Series introduced the iDrive control concept.
iDrive saw several updates during the production run to address complaints raised by owners. The first generation of the system relied on CD media for map data. In 2003 BMW updated the hardware to read DVD media, added a substantially faster processor and the ability to display maps in birds-eye view. Also added in 2003 were a 'Menu' and 'Customisable' button below the control knob. This was done to address the complaints of 'getting lost' in the menus.
The system also gained the capability to control a MP3 capable CD Changer. The interface was streamlined to resemble the iDrive CCC system. Although it may appear similar in function to the CCC iDrive, the iDrive system in the E65/66 is unique to only that model. The system started a trend and today most car manufacturers offer in-car systems built around a central control knob, an idea first brought to consumers by BMW in the E65 7-Series.
BMW started work on a facelift for the E65 7 Series in 2003, and was introduced on all BMW E65 7 Series models in 2005. Going on sale in March of that year, the facelift included several new engines, new exterior styling and interior upholstery colours as well as some new optional extras. The majority of changes to the car were technical in nature. Exterior styling changes included a restyled front and rear bumper and a slightly larger and a more curved grill which was in line with the new BMW design language. The headlights were also completely restyled, while the rear lights featured changes to the trunk-lid-mounted section which was redesigned to create the appearance of a single light unit as (opposed to the outgoing two part light design).
Overall the restyled front end served to give the car a more sporty appearance. In the rear, the trunk lid styling was subtly enhanced with the trunk release button being moved out of sight and a thinner, more elegant looking chrome strip flowing into the re-designed lights. Interior changes included improved material and paint quality as well as a restyled steering wheel. The climate control panel was revised slightly. Overall the changes to the interior were minor and served mostly to address quality concerns.
In 2005 BMW also introduced BMW Night Vision, a system that used passive infrared (whereas Mercedes & Lexus used active infrared) emitters processing far infrared radiation signsals to minimise non-essential information and placing greater emphasis on animals and pedestrians, which allows for a range of 300m while avoding dazzle from intense light sources such as car headlights.
The top range model was the 760i which featured a 6.0 V12 engine producing 444HP and 600NM of torque allowing the car, weighing over 2,000KG, to do 0-60 in 5.3 seconds while the car was electronically limited to 155 MPH, like every other German car.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_7_Series_(E65)
