BMW’s have always been handsome cars. They possessed a sort of understated elegance that made them appear purposeful yet restrained. That was how things were, then a certain man by the name of Chris Bangle came along. He thought that BMW’s were going to get lost in their design language and would not progress, so he reinvented how BMW’s look.

The first was the 7-Series. When the current 7-Series was first launched jaws hit the floor, and not in a good way either. It was such a radical departure from what Bimmer fans were used to it came across as almost shocking. BMW soon created a mid-life update for the car that helped tone it down a bit, but it was no use. The 7-Series looked weird.

Well now BMW has released the official photos of the upcoming 7. You can judge for yourself but I’d guess to say it’s only a little better than the current car. Sure it’s a bit more subtle and more restrained than before, but it’s still a bit off looking.

The biggest news so far, besides the usual upgrades like suspension and brakes, is the fact that the new 7-Series will be the first car with full on internet access. Also, it will be powered by BMW’s newest line of turbo engines. Power will come from a new twin-turbo V8 rated at about 400 ponies. The twin turbo inline six offered everywhere else in the world will not be coming here at first. But we can expect a hybrid LS600H fighter in the form of a new hybrid 7-series.  An all-wheel drive version is also in the works.

Pricing or a U.S. launch date have not been announced, but I expect the cars to start showing up in dealers this winter. Hopefully it will have the all-wheel drive option available by then!

Above: That much room and Google?! We’ll be here a while….