2016 BMW 7-series Revealed: Ultra-Plush and Gadget-Stuffed - Car and Driver (blog)

Always more limo than sports sedan, the BMW 7-series burnishes both sides of its personality with the all-new sixth generation, which arrives this fall as a 2016 model. The new 7 slims down thanks to a new platform that includes structural carbon-fiber elements, while at the same time turning up the luxury quotient and the techno wizardry. It will take a sharp-eyed observer, however, to identify the new, sixth-generation 7-series once the car starts gliding off dealer lots. Dimensionally very close to its predecessor, the 7-series in its latest iteration grows just over an inch in length, while its width and height remain largely unchanged. There’s also a new, hockey-stick-shaped design element along the lower body sides. The net effect is to take another baby step away from the leaden, dumpling-like form language introduced with the Bangle-era 7-series of 2002. Carbon Core, Not Common Core Beneath the conservative exterior, however, the new 7-series platform... What BMW is calling its “Carbon Core” structure (with a badge to that effect on the B-pillar) is in fact a mix of carbon-reinforced plastic, aluminum, and high-strength steel. Source: www.caranddriver.com