Look! It’s the BMW i7 electric luxury saloon

Camouflage be damned: this is our first official look at the new BMW i7, an electric luxury saloon that’s set to arrive some time in 2022.

BMW claims that the i7 will be the first of its kind, conveniently forgetting that we’ve already had a go in the Mercedes EQS. But no matter. It’ll be billed as the electric version of the next-generation 7 Series, using the same CLAR platform found in the i4 saloon and iX SUV.

The German firm has confirmed that the i7 will use the same fifth-gen eDrive tech as the iX, which runs a dual-motor powertrain for all-wheel drive and up to 516bhp in its most powerful xDrive 50 guise. Until it’s knocked off its perch by the M Performance division’s forthcoming 60M variant, that is.

0-62mph in the iX takes as little as 4.6 seconds, so we can expect similar numbers (if not better, given its sleeker profile) from the i7. The iX’s 71 and 105kWh battery options deliver 257 and 380 miles of range respectively on paper, so it’s feasible that the i7 will offer an improvement here too.

The car’s final shakedown in Arjeplog, Sweden, will help engineers fine tune the steering, Dynamic Stability Control and the relationship between the regen braking and the physical discs, among other things. The springs and dampers are also being looked at "to ensure maximum driver feedback and enjoyment" across the car’s many driving modes.

This or the EQS? Or hold off until the Audi grandsphere arrives in production form?