BMW 7 Series (E65) - Overview

Overview

The arrival of E65 7-Series heralded a new styling era for BMW with the work of chief designer Chris Bangle, as its sheetmetal contrasted drastically with the BMW's previous conservative styling. In particular, the E65's two-level rear end styling that features separate rear fenders with a "bustle-back" boot lid was derisively known as the "Bangle Butt" by critics. However, the "Bangle Butt" styling was actually designed by Adrian van Hooydonk, who had worked closely with Bangle on the E65. In fact, van Hooydonk's original 1998 sketch for the E65 was much more radical sleek fastback, but the final E65 profile was toned down considerably to a more conventional three-box sedan. The final design was approved in January 1999, being later revised in the second half of 1999, with the German patent being filed on November 16, 2000. After controversy surrounding its exterior design following its introduction in July 2001 and throughout 2002, external updates were developed up to 2003 and introduced to the market in January 2005, going on sale that March.

Early production E65s were fraught with problems, the vast majority of which were caused by functionality issues of iDrive. BMW repurchased a substantial number of 2002 and 2003 7 series cars in the USA. Subsequent software updates have largely cured these issues. Furthermore, BMW of North America extended the factory warranty on all 2002 and 2003 model year 7 series cars sold in the USA to 6 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 km) from the original 4-year or 50,000-mile (80,000 km) coverage. The UK however was only covered by the standard 3 yr/unlimited mileage warranty on this model.

The E65/E66 were the only BMW cars that are available with the top of the line engines; the 6.0 litre V12 petrol (N73) and 4.4 litre V8 turbodiesel (M67D44), badged as the 760i/Li and 745d/Ld, respectively.