Guys, are you aware we are still 2 years away from seenig the official pics of F01.

This will be one loooooooooong thread / debate ...

Just like the W221.

This is the mule right?

It's a F01 prototype (real F01 body under the heavy plastic camo which emulates E65 7er).

"Mule" is usually refered to an existing vehicle / model carrying components (eg. suspension, drivetrain, engine etc) of a new completely model / vehicle.

It sounds like this car is going to have some really powerful engines. A V12 TT wow. That thing is going to be a rocket-I guess they really needed a model that could adequetly compete with the S600 and I suppose the M7 will be a S65/63 competitor. Looks good.

I saw these pictures on anothert board first, and without reading Eni's comments, the first thing that came to mind is: damn, even with all this cladding, this thing looks sleaker and smaller, more elegant. Realy looking forward to this car, it's gonna be a long wait

From you-know-who ...

Very extensive use of light-weight materials... Does this give us a little hint that F01 7 series model range will include M7 as well?

Also mind we are looking at F01 SWB version.

LWB F02 will differ from F01 is styling ... Also M will be offered only in F01 SWB variant.

The SWB F01 will become more performance orientated, and even more agile without sacrificing comfort, agility and driving pleasure.

The 7er LWB F02 will be a high-end executive limousine. It will differ from F01 in rear and front end styling, and will have more space for passengers. It will also be slightly heavier than F01.

BMW want F01/2 to be the second best luxury car in the world - just behind the RR Phantom occupying no 1 place. F01/2 (especially the F02) is penned to be a bridge to baby RR - BMW will remain in the Continental Flying Spur segment, as the baby RR will not be in the Bentley's segment but higher (still under Phantom).

Benchmarking the E65/6 7er of course is the original goal - but the new S-klasse, A8, Continental Flying Spur and even a VW Phaeton are used as benchmarks in some areas. Even more unorthodox choice for a benchmark is a Maserati Quattroporte - which is the most performance inspired model in this segment.

Top new 7er will receive a twin-turbo V12.

If BMW will do a M7 is not known at this time yet. M5 has always been the top end BMW-M model - whether BMW is ready to change this or not still remains a question. Possible M7 engines varies from V10 to even V16 ... but everything is still a creative idea, far from reality.

Can't believe we're already in the "spy shot / rampent speculation / eager anticipation" phase for the F01 7er. Seems like only yesterday I was marveling at the E65, trying to get a handle on it.

I can only hope that the next 7er will be just as exciting - but perhaps sans the UI rage and crazy electrical gremlins. Hopefully the controversy will continue unabated.

Yeah, imagine BMW launching F01 with 3 wheels only. And a wooden stick instead of the 4th wheel. That would be a true controversy!

Despite stick being made of a first class exotic wood ...

j/k