2002 BMW 745i

In the car business, making big changes generally means taking big risks. That's particularly true in a historically conservative and exceptionally high-profile/high-margin market segment. With its all-new 7 Series sedan, BMW has arguably launched the most dramatic attack ever seen on the status quo of the prestige sedan genre. Stylistically, conceptually and dynamically, it breaks new ground as it seeks to one-up the rest of the field—and most directly its prime archrival, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.


Final flourishes in the formula are variations on the front and rear end treatments that mix traditional cues with unexpected twists. It's these detail aspects of the restyle—particularly those appearing aft of its sweeping backglass—that have stirred a considerable measure of controversy, even among the car's staunchest partisans.