Crystal-studded (those DRLs are literally filled with Swarovskis), delectable excess - fully electrified. For the first time ever, BMW's flagship sedan has traded combustion power for electric motors. The result? An elevated experience of no-holds-barred luxury, in what persists as one of the boldest and most forward-looking limousines on the market.

Let's talk performance first.

Boasting 536bhp and 750Nm of instant torque in the xDrive60 variant, the i7 is a reservoir of endless power; put your foot down to the pedal, and the century sprint is demolished in a scant 4.7 seconds. (That's a full two seconds quicker than its combustion-powered twin, the 735i - already no slouch itself.) Hustle it along larger, sweeping bends, and you'll find it even offers a slightly more engaging drive, since its lower centre of gravity, aided by its underfloor-mounted batteries, helps to control side-to-side weight shifts.

But we digress - b-road bombing doesn't really fall under the i7's remit; neither do we suspect spirited drives to be foremost on the minds of those buying a 2.7 tonne luxury barge. Instead, where it benefits from its electric propulsion - and perhaps puts itself ahead of its combustion-engined twin - is with how effortless and refined it is on the move. Imagine a spaceship (those in action films, not real-life rockets used for space travel): Eerily quiet as the scenery is sent whooshing by in a blur. Unless, of course, you've decided to turn the Hans Zimmer-produced IconicSounds on.

The silence, in turn, only serves to amplify the splendour that greets occupants when they step into the i7's cabin. One gets the sense that BMW threw everything possible out of its playbook at the car: An impossibly soft and supportive rear bench, vegan-leather that doesn't trade suppleness for sustainability credentials, and of course, all the eye-watering tech in the world (5.5-inch touch displays as standard; a 31-inch Theatre Screen as an option).

Some time has passed now since the world saw - reacted to - the first images of the current 7 Series/i7. And where BMW's vision for its historical flagship may have felt unclear back then, the picture has slowly come into focus.

So steadfast is BMW's pursuit of the cutting edge of luxury that one cannot help but bow their head to those split headlights, and to those huge kidney grilles. Unlike other cars that like to convey their value quietly, the latest 7 Series does it all-guns-blazing - and the i7 builds on that by tipping its hat additionally towards an emissions-free future.