Jos van As laughed easily.

The Dutchman, who likes to let it fly a bit in the service of driving pleasure, is in charge of coordination in BMW development and probably had the easiest task with the new edition of the 7 Series.

"Because we have made sure that our new flagship feels like a real BMW and makes the sportiest impression in its segment," says the engineer and, as proof, asks you to get behind the wheel of a prototype before the world premiere shortly after Easter.

From the outside, there is little more to be seen than the classic stepped cut of a rather conservative sedan, which is something special in times of fat hatchbacks like a Mercedes EQS or a Tesla Model S.

But as soon as your hand closes around the thick, firm steering wheel and the seat inflates its cheeks surprisingly tight like a vise in velvet and side, you know what kind of car you are sitting in: apart from the Porsche Panamera, there is no other luxury sedan so tightly interlocked with the roadway.

A tight connection, an almost unshakable directional stability and an unwavering steering - even if the 7er has grown a good bit again and if van As had to compensate for several hundred kilos of weight difference between the lightest and the heaviest variant, the car feels handier than his competitors, is more binding and committed and tempts the driver all the more.

Where in EQS and even in the S-Class you feel a little above things and are literally lifted off, the driver in this BMW always remains at the center of the action.

If, on the other hand, you let yourself be chauffeured by the flying Dutchman van As and switch to the rear right, as so many customers in this class do, at least during the week, you experience the 7 Series from its other side.

Then you feel like you're wrapped in cotton wool, bedded on clouds and hardly notice anything of the world outside.

The prototype doesn't have any lounge chairs or fold-out footrests, not even a seat massage, just a normal rear seat.

The two-chamber air suspension and the active roll control make the luxury liner a solid castle that defies every suggestion, both in low flight on the motorway and in brisk outings on winding roads.

So everything as always with the BMW?

If you ask Jos von As, yes.

When you talk to your colleagues from the other trades, the story takes a different turn.

For them, the flagship drives at the interface between the old and the new time and therefore has to perform a courageous balancing act: It is not for nothing that the Bavarians are offering the car for the market launch at the end of the year at estimated prices ranging from just under to well into the six-digit range, depending on the world region, as a petrol engine , diesel, plug-in hybrid and, for the first time, fully electric as the i7.

This explains the many hundredweight difference that van As had to compensate for.

The i7, which is technically closely related to the iX just presented, will have a battery with more than 100 kWh for a range of more than 600 kilometers.

There are also around 550 hp,

But it's not just the range of engines that demonstrates the balancing act in a tuxedo.

In terms of appearance, ambience and equipment, BMW ventures into a new world: Even under the camouflage mats in the interior, you can see the huge curved screen wall behind the steering wheel, which is strongly reminiscent of the iX.

The graphics on it belong more on the Ars Electronica than on the dashboard.

And if you push your fingers under the felt to make at least rudimentary settings, you will feel more sensor fields and touchscreens than conventional buttons.

Even the doors snap open electrically and no longer with a conventional handle.

Screen over the entire width of the cabin

The literally biggest eye-catcher is emblazoned in front of the backbenchers.

In the prototype is still imposed.

BMW already gave a first look at the new monitor at the CES in Las Vegas in January, which stretches across the entire width of the cabin like a screen and turns the 7 Series into a cinema on wheels - including an integrated Firestick and undisturbed streaming access to all clips, series and films that Amazon, Netflix, Youtube and the relevant portals have to offer.

What taboos don't you break just to please Chinese young millionaires who consider an S-Class or an EQS to be an old man's car and still see the A8 as the officials' sedan.

However, it is to be feared that this kowtowing to the Chinese will not only be reflected inside, but also in the body design.

Even if the prototype still wears plastic armor, which also conceals the last contours and in particular the bow with the masquerade disappears beyond recognition, the last BMW premieres with the huge kidneys of the 4er and the almost grotesque front of the XM do not bode well Direction.

But for the few weeks until the world premiere we can still hope for the best.

As a combustion engine, plug-in or purely electric, conventional or progressive, sustainable luxury or ostentatious splendor - never before has BMW offered and aspired to such a wide range with the 7 Series as with the new generation.

But at least in one point it will be a little easier for designers and customers in the future: Because 70 percent of the flagship is sold in Asia, where the rulers usually sit at the back, the long version is even longer - and the standard model is canceled without replacement.

At least on this point, the Europeans are not losing out this time.