The topic of BMW’s large kidney grille is still a much-debated one. The prolonged grille design is actually a design cue that dates back to the 1930s, with cars like the 1936 BMW 328. Now, the long kidney grills have made a return, with most of BMW’s current lineup proudly wearing it (or shamefully, depending on how you’re looking at it). However, BMW’s recent decision to bring back this grille design isn’t as recent as you may think. Back in 1996, Joji Nagashima – the exterior designer behind the E36 and E90 3 Series came up with an interesting concept that paved the way for the controversial E65 7er. It was called the ZBF 7er and was the first concept to bring back the long kidney grille.

Designer Joji Nagashima has been with BMW for over 30 years and talks about its 1996 creation. ZBF actually stands for “Future BMW Family’, translated from German. The car very much resembles an E65, but with some design features from the old E38. Of course, the E65 7 Series came years later, so it was actually the Chris Bangle-designed model that seems to have drawn heavy inspiration from the 1996 ZBF 7er.

What we notice about the ZBF 7er is the extremely clean design, especially on the side, where we see a complete absence of crests and curves. It’s just a clean uninterrupted surface. In order to not be too boring, Nagashima has given the 1996 concept side gills, inspired by the BMW E9 3.0 CSL.

Another unique feature is the bespoke 20-inch wheels and Dunlop tires. "In the 1990s, 19 inches was the biggest tire size", the designer mentions. The tire treading was actually cut by hand. Talk about attention to detail.

The body of the ZBF 7er was actually made from metal, by using an old coachbuilding technique that involves hammering the body panels into the desired shape by hand. Nagashima points out that very few coachbuilders in Italy are still using this method. Nagashima first completed a clay model of the 7er, after which he sent it to an Italian coachbuilder.

Looking at the interior, you will notice the same layout we know from the E65 7 Series. The 1996 concept also featured iDrive before it was even a thing on production cars. It even had a joystick at the back that would have allowed the rear-seat passengers to control various functions. The idea was, of course, to replace many of the physical buttons with this system. Something that eventually happened.

Joji Nagashima explains how the board embraced the concept and one of the members even expressed desire to go to an event with it. Would you have loved to see a 7 Series looking like this in the late 1990s? Also, do you think it looks better than the E65 that was inspired by it?