A new spy video shot in southern Europe shows BMW is hard at work testing a Life Cycle Impulse for the 7 Series. The facelifted flagship was caught in multiple flavors, including a plug-in hybrid and a fully electric i7. Although the prototypes were cloaked in camouflage, the luxury sedan won't be fully redesigned. It's just an LCI after all. Even so, there could be some notable changes at the front.
If you think those headlights look odd, they're provisional clusters used only on prototypes. However, the placement is unlikely to change for the road-going model. It means the lights will once again sit unusually low. Interestingly, the turn signals are also mounted low, together with the main lights.
That's not the case for the G70 on sale today where the turn signals and daytime running lights are positioned above the low/high beam. Does that mean the 7 Series facelift will have unified headlights? This is the impression we're getting since the camouflage doesn't have cutouts for where you'd normally see the turn signals and DRLs.
We don't want to get your hopes up too high but it looks as though the kidney grille is slightly smaller. One of the prototypes has horizontal bars in the grille, so it might be the M760e. However, its license plate ends in "E," indicating it is entirely electric. If true, we're dealing with the i7 M70. It seems unlikely BMW has finally decided to do a full-fat M7.
The test vehicles appeared to have temporary taillights as well. It could be a sign there will be some notable changes at the rear, too. However, we're not excluding the possibility of seeing the same rear lights, just with different graphics. The profile is unlikely to change for an LCI, although new alloy wheel designs are likely planned.
Since the prototypes were caught in motion, the car paparazzi couldn't peek inside the cabin. However, logic tells us the 2026 7 Series will switch to iDrive X with a massive central screen and possibly no driver's display. The latter could be replaced by the Panoramic Vision, a marketing term for a next-gen head-up display as wide as the dashboard.
The 7 Series LCI is reportedly entering production in July 2026 but an official reveal should take place a few months sooner. When it does arrive, the gasoline models will drop the letter "i" from the end of their names.
The 7 Series facelift was part of a wider BMW test fleet that also included the next-generation X5. It's easy to see the luxury SUV had obvious Neue Klasse design influences.