by Daniel Butnariu
The road is framed by buildings that stretch endlessly into the horizon. Unlike the current capital of Russia, however, the old imperial city’s architecture is more elegant and more colourful.
There are other moments when it brings back memories of Vienna too but on a larger, in fact, much larger scale.
The reason I can admire the view is because I’m testing a car comfortably seated on a back seat for the first time, and not behind the wheel. I'm in the long wheel base version of the 7 Series BMW, sitting on a seat with individual settings.
My legs are comfortably stretched and my feet are sat on a light gray softly padded triangular support. I have just checked my emails on the multimedia screen in front of me and to my left I have the iDrive controls made available on the armrest.
To my right I watch through the almost rectangular window the size of a family television the unhindered performance the city lays before me. Bearing the television reference in mind, I find it not strange at all when from the sidewalk Bruce Willis enters this frame. He smiles at me from an advertising poster that promotes the services of a local bank.
This association seems somewhat paradoxical since it’s hard to believe that the safety of the financial services has anything in common with the conflicting nature of John McClane in "Die Hard" or with the ghostly presence of Dr. Malcolm Crowe in "The Sixth Sense".
The limousine floats gracefully through Saint Petersburg and I sense that there is no such conflict in the 7 Series, went through to get here more than three years after the launch of the current generation that is the fifth of its kind. It was now time for the BMW flagship to get a facelift.
The passage of time could have been a good enough reason for a revision, but it’s not the only one. Its eternal rival, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is preparing to launch its latest weapons as soon as possible and will put up a fight with a new face and a different content.
Not that the 7 Series is not putting up a fight, it’s just that its technological advances somewhat restrict the number of changes adopted and one needs patience and a care to notice the novelties brought by the facelift.
In a corner of the Palace Square, waiting in line for the journalists present on a short tour of the Hermitage, dozens of 7 Series models allow you to admire them at leisure. At first glance nothing has changed and yet something is different; the features display more power and a stronger personality, and once the mind accepts this reality, the car’s features allow themselves to be revealed. The unmistakable grid has less vertical slats than before and each of the two openings now has nine blades instead of twelve that appear more prominent due to their chrome finish.
I knew all these details before coming to Saint Petersburg, but only now the effect of this change became clear to me: the 7 Series acquired a certain ’’manliness’’. The lines that apparently narrowed like a bow the elongated mouth of the vent from the bottom half of the bumper highlight the new profile of the grid.
BMW chief designer Karim Habib makes his contribution felt in this detail also present in his 2007 creation the BMW Concept CS that allowed us a glance of the contours that today were being toyed with by the midday sun. The red granite of the Alexander Column shines intensely amid the market and behind it, on a dome, a Russian flag is flying.
Our guide, a lady, explains the origins of the flag’s colours referring to Peter the Great’s passion for the Netherlands. I knew this was one of the theories, but then the guide explained further in an attempt to clarify things: "The Russian flag is like Russian women: blonde hair, blue eyes and red lips." In the northern world light blond hair means white. I have met people in Sweden who don’t consider themselves to be blond although their hair colour was only a shade darker than wheat.
I take a closer look at the young guide who accompanies us and I realize that she's right. Russians do reflect the flag of their country or at least this one does. The equivalent of this flag for BMW in terms of comparisons could be, among other design and performance values typical for the brand, its signature lights array, that is the four delineated circles within the headlights.
The origins of the double blocks of light is reflected in the 2800CS model launched in the late 60s, but the assertion of this feature as the distinctive element of the BMW came in 2000 with the launch of the Corona Rings as the daytime running lights of the 5 Series. The new 7 Series takes a step forward with its full-LED headlights that manage to reproduce the light rings at all times, regardless if you have your low or high beam switched on.
The biggest changes to the 7 Series facelift are noticeable behind these beams though. The engines were revised, an eight speed automatic transmission is now part of the standard fitting and the passengers’ comfort is ensured by the rear axle optimized chassis with self-levelling at the rear axle. Inside, the Bang & Olufsen sound system transforms the interior into a concert hall, while the intuitive menus and displays manage the car’s functions making use of the new generation iDrive system.
Listing these features is irrelevant, however, in comparison to the real driving experience. We finally have the chance to test the car on a trip to the imperial residence in the town of Pushkin better known under its old name of Tsarskoe Selo. The relaxing mood I experienced on the back seat is now replaced by a more dominating one so to call it as my eyes are more alert, my foot pressing firmer on the accelerator and my hands restraining every inch of the firm steering column.
The engine is calm and contained, but I could feel its impatience to go full tear, to step on it. My impulses are held in check though by the silhouettes of the many militiamen with their tall caps and aged cars strategically located 500 meters away past the road works on the stifled road, now that the black shiny asphalt straight like the palm of your hand encourages you to make up for the time you lost waiting in line.
All BMW engines are anxious like this, whether we’re talking about the most powerful six-cylinder 381 hp diesel engine in the world found under the hood of the new 750d xDrive, or the 6.0-liter 544 hp petrol engine strong enough to be left unaltered, or the armoured version of the 7 Series that weighs around four tonnes but has a capacity to accelerate to 100 kmp/h in less than six seconds. The route to the Catherine Palace crosses the concrete ramp that separates the waters of the Gulf of Finland as part of a complex flood protection system.
Work began in the late 70s, but after many extended delays, the dam was finally opened in 2011 in time to protect Saint Petersburg from the effects of the strong December storms. The water glistening to our left and right softens the pace slightly to allow time for our souls to enjoy the sunny day.
The locals are almost envious of our good fortune as sunny days are carefully counted here, hardly exceeding 30 per year. We’ve been here for two days and we’ve enjoyed the sunlight all the time even close to midnight although the white nights season the Northern world is so proud of is still to come. In the middle of this peaceful interlude I had a small revelation realizing I did not regret the time spent on the back of the 7 Series.
They say about BMW cars that they are specifically designed with the driver in mind, so in a limousine you will usually need to make a clear choice where you want to sit, be that behind the wheel, on the passenger's seat or at the back. The 7 Series, however, makes you feel at ease whenever you choose to sit: if you are behind the wheel you will feel full of energy enjoying the quality of the engine while sat at the back you will relish the spectacle of the world relaxed yet still in contact with the outside world of business and politics through the iDrive system and the multimedia screens.
After a quick short tour of the Catherine Palace that ended with a glass of champagne removing me from behind the wheel, I’m now sitting in the back seat of the 7 Series. The great ballroom, with its golden trimmings, its windows and mirrors reflecting the golden light of dusk is still imprinted on my memory.
I can still see before my eyes the reflections of the Amber Room painstakingly restored after the original disappeared at the end of the Second World War. I feel that time has come to clear up my thoughts and impressions, and to summarize what we have seen from and in this car.
There are many parallels at my disposal that St. Petersburg draws when it comes to comparing it to other cities and famous places. It’s also called "the Venice of the North" because of the channels that cross it although I can think of other cities in Belgium or the Netherlands that bear this resemblance. This parallel is a slightly forced one too, since all the channels in Venice should be as big as the Grand Canal for this comparison to be more or less justified.
There is a parallel that can be drawn between BMW and Saint Petersburg. All the press documents prepared for the event, put together the silhouette of the 7 Series with the iconic contour of the city’s most emblematic monuments. It's like a character reflects the other in a mirror showing you not what you are like, but as you would like to be like.
Perhaps such a look in the mirror should be behind the choice of a 7 Series BMW. According to brand estimates, there are over 135,000 people or families in Russia with fortunes exceeding one million dollars. Not all of them will choose to drive a 7 Series BMW, but if the limousine is indeed their choice, then in an ideal world the client would reflect the personality of the car. We’re talking about performance, attention to detail, elegance and excellence.
This explains to some extent why a bank may choose Bruce Willis as its symbol, certainly not for his choice of roles but for his powerful, serious and reliable image as an actor.
