As car fans, we often bow to the engineering genius of Mercedes-Benz, but their Bavarian rivals from Munich have their own history of technological fanaticism. The peak of it is the existence of a detail that is so illogical from a financial point of view and so perfect from an aesthetic point of view that it remains unsurpassed to this day. We are talking about the trunk lid mechanism of the BMW 7 Series (E38).
When the BMW E38 appeared in the mid-1990s, it was immediately proclaimed the most beautiful sedan in the world. But to achieve this clean silhouette, engineers faced a huge problem: the standard trunk hinges. If they had used a simple scheme, the lid would have either hit the rear window when opened, or required huge, ugly mechanisms that would "eat" the space for the suitcases.
The mechanical masterpiece under the upholstery
BMW's solution is so complex that it looks like the work of a watchmaker, not an automaker. They created a unique parallelogram hinge with gas shock absorbers and hydraulic assistance, which performs movement in two phases. Instead of simply rotating upwards, the lid first rises vertically upwards and backwards, moving away from the passenger compartment, and only then opens completely.
This mechanism allows the trunk to open to a vertical position, providing perfect access without endangering the car's paintwork. The entire system is hidden behind elegant upholstery, so that the interior of the trunk looks like an expensive hotel suite – without any protruding irons, springs or cables.
Why is this unique to BMW?
While many luxury brands today have electric trunks, they use standard telescopic mechanisms that are visible and often cumbersome. The BMW E38 is the only car in its class to integrate such kinematic complexity just to maintain the “purity“ of the design. No other manufacturer, including Audi or Lexus, was willing to invest so much money in a component that 90% of people will never notice.
The legacy of the "Week"
This mechanism is symbolic of an era in which BMW wanted to be not just faster, but smarter than Mercedes. While in Stuttgart they were obsessed with "dancing wipers", in Munich they were obsessed with how a trunk could open with the grace of a ballerina. Today, when plastic and cheap assembly dominate, these hidden metal hinges on the E38 are a reminder of a time when cars were built by engineers, not accountants.