Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, BMW
Production take on BMW CS Concept likely
Click image for a high-res gallery of the BMW CS Concept
BMW's surprising CS concept car is likely to beget a new flagship sedan for the Munich-based automaker. This news comes from the mouth of BMW North America honcho Tom Purves, who told Automotive News, "We have a reasonable number of examples where we have built a concept car and relatively small examples where we have not built a concept car."
Additionally, Purves noted that his US dealer network is already very excited about the concept. If the post-Shanghai market research brings positive news, it's pretty likely that a production 4-seater based on the CS would get the green light. The new car would be positioned above the 7-series in the automaker's lineup.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yago bal 7:16AM (5/21/2007)
Above the 7 series?
I don't have access to the data like you do but, in my logic, it's more likely that BMW wants this car to compete with the Mercedes CLS, right?
That would put it between the 5 and the 7 series.
I see that having a car in an "empty" segment can have it's advantages (that segment was "empty" when the CLS came, and we can see how it was great for Mercedes), but I'm sure the priority at BMW will be to compete were it's rivals are, first...
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Carlos 9:34PM (7/15/2008)
Check out this link: http://mihai-apostu.blogspot.com/2008/01/mercedes-cls-vs-bmw-cs-concept.html
thetruth 8:35AM (5/21/2007)
There design is looking alot like the insect world.
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Sandouras 8:44AM (5/21/2007)
Perfect! The Rapide is so conservative! We only need to wait and see what Porsche has done with the Panamera.
But i love this BMW!
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Rick 8:50AM (5/21/2007)
I really like this style. Sporty yet classy. BMWs latest designs has been less than desirable for most BMW fans. Especially with the latest 3 and 5 series, cars just blend in with the crowd and other than Z, they don't look any special. They have this generic car look to them. This one is out of the box that looks very sporty and classy and definitely a head turner unlike the current models.
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Richard 9:42AM (5/21/2007)
I prefer the Jaguar version!
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Bart 10:28AM (5/21/2007)
I hope it doesnt make it into production. It looks like they stuck bits from all 4 door coupés together to make this car. There's some Rapide, Panamera, Quattroporte, CLS, all in there. Not only is the result ugly (my personal opinion), but it's quite insulting. I can see how the previous design route of van Hooydonk and Bangle didnt work out, but this isnt the route they should be taking either.
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Rene Curry 10:47AM (5/21/2007)
This thing will sell! The only problem is it's so good it will gut '7' series sales.
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col337 2:45PM (5/21/2007)
Just so everyone knows:
This CS concept thing will indeed make it into production and be on sale a few years from now. It will be more or less in direct competition with the Rapide and Panamera, and not really anywhere near the CLS (of which there will be a new model of by that time). It will likely be called the 8-Series, it will have four doors, and it will be more expensive and higher in the hierarchy than the 7 (of which there will also be a new model of quite soon).
You know how there's still no M7? There probably never will be. BMW has stated in the past that it has no real intention of diluting the extremely sporty image of its M line, which is what is believed will happen if that sexy badge ever makes it on to the 7-Series. BMW has also previously stated that one of the very core principles of the ///M Division is to *avoid* making sports cars that are stupidly heavy with stupidly large amounts of power, quite unlike M-B's ay-em-gee, bay-bee.
Though the new sedan (probably dubbed the 8-Series) and the soon-new 7's weights probably won't be too far from one another, it is safe to say they'll be very different vehicles. Perhaps a flat base 8 would cost less than a fully-loaded 7, but the 8 will most certainly be higher in the model spectrum. The classic 7-Series will still remain a BMW flagship, with the image of the big grand sports sedan luxury yacht. But the 8? It will be by definition a sports car, and look and feel like it too--but of course with almost all if not all the 7's very nice niceties. The CL63 crowd will just love it. And then, later, the M8. Probably. Not for like half a decade at least. A helpful juxtapositional comparison here is looking at the current Audi A4 in relation to the new A5 and S5, ignoring the [current] RS4 variant, and with the A4 taking the place of the Seven. Think about how the A4 (or even the A6) sits in in the lineup in relation to the A5. See?
So yeah, in summary, the CS concept will indeed make it to the dealerships in some form at some point, and no CLS will be able to touch it. In fact, it is my opinion that a potential buyer looking at this Panamera-led niche will have one ass Mercedes doesn't have a seat for. I doubt Mercedes will have a competitor for at least a whole model generation. Here's some more of my opinion: the CS concept is freakin' fugly, but the production version definitely won't be.
btwfyi, if you disagree with me on any of this, you are wrong. Other than, of course, when I say "my opinion" or "likely".
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SOhp101 9:32PM (5/21/2007)
They'll tone down the design, just like how they did for the 6 series concept. I remember when those pictures first came out, they were definitely fugly, but now the car looks much better than its concept (although plenty of you would disagree).
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sfast 12:54AM (5/22/2007)
That be ugly!
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80 4:58PM (5/22/2007)
i saw this and thought; "the front is ugly, but that's easy to fix." then i took a closer look and saw the 1962 plymouth valiant signet in that character line down the side. great idea, but needs work...
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