2016 BMW 7 Series spotted

With Mercedes-Benz putting the final touches to its most sophisticated S-Class ever, arch rival BMW seems to have shifted things into overdrive with its next generation 7 Series. Code-named G11, Munich’s flagship saloon has recently been snapped testing in Germany.

What we see in these images doesn’t look drastically different from the current model, but things are likely to change later as the car is still at a very early stage of development.

Even if the exterior design doesn’t turn out to be much different from the current car, the underpinnings are sure to be radically different. BMW is likely to borrow efficient construction techniques used in the new i3 and i8 cars in building the 2016 BMW 7 Series, which means lightweight carbon-fibre panels could be used for the roof, bonnet and the boot lid. This could see the car shedding up to 150kg compared to the current version.

Powertrain options are likely to be the same six-, eight- and twelve-cylinder ones, and a plugin hybrid model. Watch this space for further updates as they come.