The beginning of 2015 came with some rather horrifying news for the entire BMW->ke178 marketing department, as someone has taken a number of photos of a completely undisguised 2016 7 Series. With the car expected to be officially unveiled close or right at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show->ke235 in the fall, the timing of these image leaks couldn't be more inopportune for the Bavarian car maker, with the situation made even worse by the fact that the photos don't put the upcoming model in a very good light either.

As you can see, BMW decided to play it safe with the overall 7 Series design, despite the model appearing to sport some motifs from the well-received Vision Future Luxury Concept. The front sports a larger double-kidney grille, which is now flanked by two headlights that mimic those of other modern BMWs, such as the 3 Series->ke290 and the X5->ke326 and X6.->ke2396 On the plus side, the model in the photos is equipped with headlights that use laser technology, which will probably be the one of the main selling points when the car is finally launched.

Its profile is very much classic BMW sedan,->ke142 albeit from the rear three-quarter view it does emanate a strange similarity with the current Lexus LS -- a model that ironically was criticized for its rear three-quarter view somewhat comparable with that of the current-gen 7 Series.

As for the rear, this is where some elements from the Vision Future Luxury Concept can be seen, although in a much more mellow form. In terms of interior, only an image of the driver side has been leaked, but it is more than enough to give us an idea. Judging by that, the dashboard and center console also play it safe in terms of design, with the addition of aluminum inserts and buttons being the only truly novel bit compared with the current-generation 7 Series.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2016 BMW 7 Series.

Why it matters

Information and image leaks have become quite a bit more popular in recent years thanks to the increase in Internet usage and the availability of smartphones with decent cameras. For that very reason, I would have expected that most carmakers would be a bit more secretive with showing naked prototypes of their upcoming products, but apparently I was wrong. Sure, some might say that BMW's marketing department itself may be responsible for this leak, in order to create some free publicity for the 2016 7 Series, but I don't buy that conspiracy theory. Especially since the timing for such a scheme would be off by at least half a year, during which the current 7 Series still has to find some customers.

On top of it all, the damage is double, as the spied images don't even show the upcoming model in a very flattering light in terms of design, at least for some people. The proportions are all there, but some of the details don't seem to work all that well together, not to mention that it gives a very "evolutionary" vibe. I'll have to keep a more thorough opinion about this matter until further photos of the car will surface though. The sad bit is that there is a distinct possibility that some heads will roll at BMW for this unprecedented information leak, even though the deed is now done no matter what happens next.

2016 BMW 7 Series