As one of the only few members on here who owns an LCI GT (and had a pre-LCI before), and attempts to make it a bit prettier (don't send the firing squad yet
), I've had the car long enough to really pick out all the different aspects of its design.
The GT was a good concept marketed in a bad way. It essentially is more so a 7 Series fastback compared rather than a 5 Series wagon, since it's based on the F01. It's a longer and wider car than the regular F10, more inline with the F01 proportions.
Now, funny enough, I accidentally came across a post on BimmerBlogs recently when the F07 just debuted; they were comparing the front fascia to the likes of the E60, F01, and soon-to-be-released F10. Many had highly favorable remarks of the F07's front (from a head-on perspective), and I must agree it's one of the current GT's best features.
Surprisingly, some also said the GT's rear (not from an angle, just directly behind) was well-designed. I somewhat agree, but more in regards to the LCI rear, which is much better sculpted compared to the pre-LCI. However, that roofline ended a bit too high, adding what i like to call the "frumpy trunk lump" to the rear. It should've been brought down to the lower trunk line, to make it sleeker. My ducktail CSL-esque spoiler tricks the eye into making the rear look lower, and the roofline flow into the spoiler instead.
Also, I think the greenhouse could've been a bit smaller and more raked in, and the side should've had deeper creased bodylines to reduce the bloat (darker colors suit the GT better IMHO). Also, the stupidly higher ride height (caused by more wheel gap and larger fender arches) looks awful, hence why lowering it made such a big difference. However, taking all these cues into account, I did my best to accentuate the more attractive features of the GT, and reduce the flaws.
Despite the canvas I'm working with, my old one did change many opinions on the GT, including my own. I still see a stock GT on the road and think, "BMW, what the hell were you trying to do?"
but owning and modifying one has given me a lot of insight into the platform and made me realize its potential. That along with the massive popularity my old GT gained on social media (now at 41,000 followers on my instagram, @TheBlackGT), made the chance to grab the new LCI with M-Sport (which is majorly improved over the last GT) one I couldn't pass up, to really show the current 5GT's true potential. I know many of you question my sanity, but trust me, it will be worth all the effort once it's done.
I personally think the GT should've been debuted as a 7GT (and also not raised in height); it would've changed the way people felt about it. Despite the size, with the coilovers it handles much smaller and sharper than one would think, and with the N63TU moves like hell (my old N63 with BMS knocked out some pretty fast cars, imagine this one once it's tuned). However, i know this one will be on the new modular G30 platform, and possibly will be called the 6GT (no clue why).
The design is alright, but reminds me a bit of the 3GT. Albeit sleeker, it loses some of the presence the current 5GT has. Anyone who's driven alongside my GT (current or previous) says the car has a certain level of aggression to it, but that's really because of the low stance and modifications as well (sorry stock GTs
) I await to see the new one debut in the next two years or so; till then i'm on a mission to create the GT that BMW should've made. I know this post may be TL;DR, but just wanted to share my thoughts.
P.S. Forgive my shameless plug, but i'll be revealing my new GT once it's complete in the next few weeks. A lot of world's firsts will be debuted on the car, including wheel design, F07-specific coilovers, etc. I hope whoever views it appreciates what the GT can truly be. [IMG][/IMG]
P.S.S. forgive me for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I wrote this pretty late, sometimes my thoughts translate to somewhat odd wording on paper
