A Reddit user claiming to work at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina has laid out a detailed inventory of what the next-generation X7 will bring to market. If the account is accurate, BMW’s largest SUV is borrowing heavily from the 7 Series playbook while quietly abandoning one of the features that defined the outgoing model.
The split tailgate is dead. The current X7’s signature party trick, that two-piece rear gate that doubled as a bench at tailgate parties nobody actually had, is reportedly being replaced by a conventional one-piece unit. BMW already made the same move on the new X5 earlier this year. That leaves the Rolls-Royce Cullinan as the sole BMW Group vehicle still carrying the feature, which tells you everything about where BMW thinks split tailgates belong on the pricing spectrum.
The front end, according to the user known as spradilak, won’t go full Neue Klasse. Expect conventional kidney grilles, large ones, flanked by split headlights. Spy photos of camouflaged prototypes back this up.
The look should track closer to the facelifted 7 Series than to the radical design language BMW has been rolling out on its next-generation electric architecture. The rear gets slimmer taillights but otherwise stays evolutionary. The whole vehicle will reportedly grow slightly in length and width.
Inside is where things get interesting. The dashboard and center console will mirror the new X5, but the rear cabin pulls from the 7 Series parts bin. Touchscreen panels embedded in the rear doors will let passengers control comfort settings, just like in BMW’s flagship sedan.
A fold-down rear entertainment screen will be optional on the standard X7 and standard on the ALPINA variant. A front-passenger display rounds out the screen count. Power-operated doors, another 7 Series transplant, are also reportedly coming.
The ALPINA angle is worth watching. Pre-production of what BMW internally calls the G69 has already started alongside the standard G67, according to the post. Both will offer combustion and electric powertrains.
That means an ALPINA EV is now a near-certainty, a sharp reversal from statements made just a few years ago by the brand’s former leadership, who insisted their customers had zero interest in a car without a gas engine. Markets shift. So do business plans.
BMW has confirmed a 2027 reveal for the next X7, with production at Spartanburg reportedly targeting a September start. That slots the vehicle in as a 2028 model year in the U.S. The current X7 has already rolled into MY2027, so the timing is tight but clean.
The strategic math here is simple. With the X5 dropping its third row, BMW is funneling larger families toward the X7 whether they like the price increase or not. Loading the X7 with 7 Series tech justifies pushing it further upmarket and widens the gap between the two SUVs.
And if internal discussions go the way BMW has hinted, the X7 may not sit at the top of the lineup for long. The automaker has publicly acknowledged it is considering a larger SUV for North America, reviving long-standing speculation about an X9. Nothing is confirmed, but the conversation alone signals that BMW sees room above the X7 in a market where size still sells.
For now, the G67 is shaping up as a careful blend of restraint on the outside and escalation on the inside. Whether a factory worker’s Reddit post holds up against the final production spec remains to be seen.
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