DESIGNED FOR LIFE
In the Bible it is the number of physical and spiritual completeness and perfection. So it’s apt that the figure 7 has represented automotive pre-eminence ever since BMW’s flagship saloon — the first full-size performance car to emanate from its Dingolfing factory in Germany — began gracing the world’s metropolises in May 1977.
It wasn’t, let’s be frank, the most universally stylish point of the post-war era. Rod Stewart was topping the charts while making his unedifying stylistic transition from tartan to leopard print, while the screen dandy of the era sported a combat waistcoat with matching tight black jeans (the original was released the same month as the E23). But the 7 Series, with its stark, linear elegance derived from the art deco sensibilities of Paul Bracq and Wilhelm Hofmeister, injected more than a soupçon of style savvy into an era in need of it.
