Here’s an early New Year’s gift for you: BMW’s next generation 7-Series flagship saloon made an unexpected appearance on the web through a set of revealing shots.



The undisguised model is a 730d riding on the regular wheelbase (codenamed G11 – the long wheelbase versions will carry the G12 chassis code).

From the pictures, it’s clear that BMW took an evolutionary approach with the design giving the new 7-Series a sharper look on the outside with some cues from the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept shown in Beijing earlier this year.

The front end is more aggressive than the current model and features BMW’s new laserlight headlamps, a technology first seen on the i8, though, they will likely be optional.

Inside, the dashboard has a similar layout to the one found on the outgoing car, with BMW adding a large, standalone central screen with the familiar iDrive controller positioned next to the gear selector. BMW has also gone for a fully digital and likely customizable, instrument binnacle.

Elsewhere, we know that the 7-Series will drop as much as 200kg (~440 pounds) and will ride on BMW’s new “35up” rear-wheel-based scalable platform architecture. Besides the usual mix of straight-six, V8 and V12 turbo units, the new 7 is expected to gain 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel and gasoline engines, as well as a plug-in hybrid variant.

Photos via Autobuzz and Autoweek.nl

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