Now you know why everyone is calling the next generation of the 7-Series BMW‘s “worst kept secret of the year”; after several undisguised shots and marketing PDFs, we have official imagery of the luxury sedan.

These pictures that come courtesy of Autowereld were dropped on the web just hours before BMW presents the car to the world later today in Germany, where we’ll get to know the full details.

The new 2016 BMW 7-Series has an evolutionary exterior design that looks a little bit sportier and sharper than the outgoing model – but not by much… The interior is sleeker and more modern, with the dashboard incorporating the firm’s new customizable digital instrument panel – however, we’ve seen a second iteration that combines both digital and analogue dials.

A very welcome change to BMW’s Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival is the extensive use of CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic) in the body and passenger cell, together with a blend of aluminum and high-strength steel elsewhere to significantly reduce weight – up to 200kg or 440 pounds, according to some sources.

We’ll know more later today, but a previous leak said that the European specification version of BMW’s flagship will launch with three engines, including the new inline-six cylinder B58 mill with 326PS (322hp) in the 740i (the same engine found in the facelifted 340i), a twin-turbo V8 with 450PS (444hp) in the 750i xDrive and a new B57 inline-six cylinder diesel with 265PS (261hp) in the 730d. More powertrains will be introduced down the line.

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