The current 7-Series, known internally as the G70, might be one of BMW’s most debated designs in years, second only to the polarizing Bangle-era E65. While enthusiasts wait for the Neue Klasse facelift expected in 2026, the present model has taken on a different kind of spotlight in Korea, where it has been turned into an art car.

This one-off creation comes from a collaboration with Lee Kun-Yong, widely regarded as one of Korea’s most influential avant-garde artists. Known for performances that use his own body as a medium, Kun-Yong often translates movement into striking abstractions, most famously in his Bodyscape series.

More: This BMW Prototype Hides A Solid Secret

A fully electric BMW i7 equipped with the M Package became the 83-year-old artist’s mobile canvas. He designed a special wrap anchored in a vivid red base, which remains visible on the front and rear fenders, side skirts, roof pillars, and rear deck.

However, the rest of the vehicle sports paintings with faces, hearts, leaves, and abstract shapes that cover the doors, the bumpers, the lower portion of the tailgate and the hood. Each side of the large executive sedan is unique, resulting in an asymmetrical layout.

According to BMW, the artist’s goal was to “reflect the precision and responsiveness inherent in the dialogue between driver and car, drawing parallels to his own artistic practice”.

Kun-Yong said that he views art as “a bridge between different objects, different people and even different perspectives,” and hopes the collaboration creates new points of connection between art and technology.

Exhibition In Seoul

The colorful i7 will be exhibited at the BMW Lounge in Seoul, Korea, between September 3 and 6, alongside a collection of 18 miniature art cars. Furthermore, Lee Kun-Yong will create a new canvas as part of a live show on September 4, taking inspiration from his work on the vehicle.

More: If You Thought The Star-Studded CLA Was Bad, Look At This Piece Of…Art

This year, the Bavarian automaker is celebrating 50 years of BMW Art Cars with a global exhibition program, and the 30 years of BMW Korea. For this reason, it is organizing an art fair that will be held at the Gagman district of Seoul, including 120 galleries from 30 countries. Finally, local artist Crush, known for creating a blend of pop, R&B and hip hop music, will perform at the latest edition of Frieze Music in Seoul on September 5.

BMW

Compared with their predecessors from a decade ago, today’s EVs go further, charge faster and have far more charging stations to choose from, but some would-be buyers still cite range anxiety as a reason for not going electric. And the results of a new study investigating the real range of EVs currently on sale suggests those fears are entirely justifiable.

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) picked five EVs from a mix of brands as part of its government-funded four-year test designed to arm the nation’s car buyers with honest data. After subjecting each of the electric cars to a real-world driving route it found one of models delivered 23 percent less range than its maker claims.

Related: After 100K Miles, VW’s EV Barely Lost Range Thanks To One Trick

That car, the BYD Atto 3, only achieved 229 miles (369 km) before needing a recharge, representing a 69-mile (111 km) shortfall on the Chinese automaker’s 298-mile (480 km) official figure. Tesla’s Model 3 didn’t tell quite so big a lie, but it also failed to live up to its official range figures by a fairly large margin considering the tests weren’t carried out in the Arctic. The 274 miles (441 km) it achieved was 14 percent lower than Tesla’s 319-mile (513 km) claim.

Inconsistent Accuracy

But the big takeaway from the investigation isn’t that all EV range claims are wildly inaccurate. All five cars delivered fewer miles than advertized, and the BYD was wildly off. But one of the cars very nearly matched its official range, falling just 5 percent short, and it’s this difference across the brands, and cross models within the same brand, that’s the real problem for consumers.

If they knew that every car over-promised by 20 percent, it would be easier to make buying decisions than it is when you’ve no idea which brands to believe. It’s for this reason that these kind of independent tests are so useful for buyers looking at spending tens of thousands of dollars on a new car.

Standout Performer

The AAA’s test champ was the Smart #3, whose 268-mile (432 km) true range was only 14 miles (23 km) out. Kia’s EV6 and the Tesla Model Y also performed relatively well, each returning 8 percent less range than claimed.

AAA

Children enrolled in the Head Start early education program operated by Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council. (Photo courtesy of Western Dairyland EOC)

A new Trump administration federal rule would bar immigrants without legal status from a range of public programs, canceling a policy that was implemented nearly three decades ago.

The change bars the children of those immigrants from the Head Start child care program. It also closes the door to immigrants lacking legal status for various programs that provide mental health and substance abuse treatment, job training and other assistance.

Head Start, which provides early education and child care for low-income families, has never been required to ascertain the immigration status of its families, said Jennie Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.

Families enrolling in the program have to provide a variety of pieces of information to verify they are eligible, Mauer told the Wisconsin Examiner Monday, and the programs are “very compliance oriented” and collect “exactly what they have to collect.”

Mauer said a trusting relationship between Head Start programs and the families they serve is important.

“We’re serving some of the neediest families in our community,” she said. Some have had “challenging relationships” in the past with schools and other government agencies — making nurturing that trust even more critical, she added.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice July 10 that declared Head Start and a list of other federally funded programs would now be considered “public benefits” that exclude immigrants without legal status under a law enacted in 1996. The notice revokes a policy enacted in 1998 that had exempted the affected programs from the 1996 law.

The federal announcement said that the policy change was instituted to “ensure that taxpayer-funded program benefits intended for the American people are not diverted to subsidize illegal aliens.”

Mauer said there has been no implementation guidance from HHS since the notice.

The Wisconsin Head Start Association is among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in April by the American Civil Liberties Union opposing Trump administration actions against Head Start. The other plaintiffs include parent groups in Oregon and in Oakland, California, along with state Head Start associations in Washington, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

In a statement Friday the plaintiffs said they will amend the lawsuit if the administration follows through with the limits in the July 10 announcement.

Mauer said that the Wisconsin association is advising Head Start providers to “refrain from making any immediate changes to enrollment policy until they have an opportunity to fully evaluate their legal obligations.”

She said the notice has heightened concern about the safety of children whose families might be targeted by the new federal stance. But it will affect the entire program, she said.

Mauer said a second concern is that the policy could lead some families to take their children out of the program despite their need for it. If enrollment falls below the federally prescribed level of 97% of capacity, she’s concerned that the federal government might then take back grant money — creating “a negative feedback loop,” she said.  

“I am so afraid for our families,” Mauer said. “This is fracturing the safety of all of our children. This will hurt all of the children in Head Start.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

When we first laid eyes on it, we didn’t give the Nissan N7 the kindest of receptions, calling it a straight-up copy of the Xpeng P7. As it turns out, Chinese buyers clearly didn’t have a problem with its looks; they voted with their wallets and made the N7 the most popular foreign-brand car model last month.

Also: Toyota’s New Electric Flagship Sedan Takes A Shot At Tesla Model S

The N7 sedan scored 6,189 sales in June in a tight battle where the top three models were closely matched, and everyone else was two laps behind, so to speak. Buick’s GL8 New energy minivan was right on the N7’s tail, eventually recording 6,082 sales, while Toyota’s bargain-priced Platinum 3X, also known as the bZ3X, found 6,030 buyers.

Tight Competition at the Top

Trailing well behind in fourth place was Volkswagen’s ID.3 with 3,950 sales, according to data from China’s Autohome, and there was another big drop to the fifth-placed Smart #1, which 2,324 buyers took home. BMW’s i3, an electric sedan similar in shape to the N7, proved far less popular. Only 2,270 people snapped up one of those in June.

Though the Maxima-sized N7 wears Nissan badges it’s actually the result of a joint venture between the struggling Japanese company and China’s Dongfeng, and shares components with Dongfeng eπ 007. For a tempting 129,900 yuan, or roughly $17,800, the base N7 510 Pro comes with a 58 kWh LFP battery claims 317 miles (510 km) of range on the Chinese CLTC cycle.

CHINA’S FOREIGN BRAND BEST SELLERS

At the other end of the scale, the N7 625 Max features a much fuller list of standard equipment and a 73 kWh battery that claims a 388-mile (625 km) range. Bear in mind, though, that this is according to China’s testing standards, so take the range claims with a large pinch of salt.

More: Chevrolet’s Latest Electric SUV Has A Secret Chinese Twin

Power output varies by trim. Buyers can choose between 215 hp (218 PS / 160 kW) or 268 hp (272 PS / 200 kW), with pricing and performance adjusted accordingly. Demographics for the N7 skew young and family-oriented: 68 percent of buyers are men, 74 percent are married, and 60 percent are under 35, according to figures released by Nissan.

Currently, the N7 is a China-only model, but Nissan has already confirmed it’s exploring international markets. A global launch could be on the table under a different name, potentially reviving the old Primera badge. Just don’t expect to see it on American roads anytime soon.

Nissan

The Smart brand is very different now from what it was just a few years ago. Its diminutive cars like the ForTwo and ForFour are no more, and instead, the brand is now only building electric SUVs in China. However, according to a new report, it may be preparing to revive one of its most cult models: the Roadster.

Read: The Smart Roadster Could Stage A Comeback After 20 Years

Smart’s UK boss, Jason Allbutt, was recently asked about the chances of a new Roadster making it into production, and he sounded pretty enthusiastic about the idea. “We used to have one of those in the family, and [it was] particularly good fun,” he told Autoexpress.

He even acknowledged the UK’s reputation for rain, pointing out that the country gets “more rain than probably any other European market,” but still suggested there might be a chance for the Roadster to make a comeback locally, saying there’s a “possibility” it could be sold in the UK.

Smart’s Next Moves

However, Allbutt stopped short of confirming if or when a new Roadster could hit the market. Smart is currently focused on volume models that it hopes can sell in large numbers. In addition to the three SUVs it currently has in its range, it is working on its first-ever electric sedan, known as the #6.

The Smart #6 will be positioned as the brand’s rival to the Tesla Model 3 and could share its underpinnings with the Zeekr 007 sedan, utilizing the latter’s PMA2+ platform. It should be offered in single and dual electric motor setups.

Before Smart can commit to a new Roadster, it also needs to ensure that there will be enough demand for it. Obviously, it would be all-electric like the brand’s other models, and to carry some of the same appeal of the original, it would need to be small and light. Alpine is working on a new electric sports car, while Porsche is also morphing the Boxster and Cayman into EVs. Smart could also look to MG for inspiration as its Cyberster has proven it’s possible to build a desirable electric roadster.

Still, not everyone is sold on the idea of an electric sports car. Speaking with Auto Express, Allbutt expressed some doubt about whether an electric Roadster could truly capture the spirit of the original. “I think a lot of people that drive these cars historically have been traditional car enthusiasts,” he said.

“Part of the joy of having the roof down, in case you have less hair to be ruffled nowadays, is also to hear the sound of the engine,” he added. “Maybe there’s a new audience that would be looking at [an electric roadster] in a different way. I’m not quite sure yet as to who the buyers of that car really are. It’s too early to tell right now, but we’ll see.”

It’s a fair point, though the market for electric roadsters is still largely uncharted.

Note: This article contains renderings from an independent study made by designers Geoffrey Decembry and Pierre Senelet and is not endorsed in any way by Smart.