One of the first sketches from 1989 shows a white sedan, almost unrecognisable compared to the production car that was eventually launched in 1995. This version looked much more streamlined, with a rounded front end and flowing lines in the spirit of Italdesign's Nazca M12 and C2 concepts.
At the next stage, in the sketch of the burgundy car, features of the future production model begin to emerge. The grille is already recognisable, while the proportions of the headlights and the characteristic bonnet line hint at what the E39 will eventually look like.
It is important to note that at the time of these first sketches, the E39's predecessor, the E34, had only been on sale for two years. Its design was angular and strictly geometric, like all BMW styling of the time. But even then, designers were already looking to the future.
Chris Bangle, author of BMW's radical design turnaround of the late 90s and early 2000s, didn't become head of the brand's design department until 1992 - three years after these sketches appeared.
Source: Thedrive
