8 BRUTALISM AS CAR

The BMW i7 XDRIVE60 is the halo model of the new seventhgeneration 7 Series – and, like the monolithic design aesthetic it embodies, this BMW transforms unadorned functionalism into an ART FORM.

STEVE SMITH

THE CREW AT BMW LOVE A BIT OF BRUTALISM. As curvy and svelte as many of their models usually are, every now and again up pops a BMW that owes more to that architectural school’s monolithic, unadorned functionalism than it does to easy-on-the-eye lines sculpted in a wind tunnel. In fact, Brutalism is coded into BMW’s DNA – see the brand’s Karl Schwanzer-designed museum in Munich – and it has manifested in models like the 7 Series of 2001-2008, the current BMW iX, and now the new 7 Series launched in South Africa earlier this year. It’s also an aesthetic that, by its very nature, is eternally polarising. Brutalism leaves no-one indifferent – you either love it or you hate it. And the new 7 Series has not escaped that…

You're reading a preview of

Visi (Digital) - 1 Issue, VISI 125

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.