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BMW has for the first time confirmed that it is developing a second generation of its X7 luxury SUV.

Releasing its financial results for the first quarter of its 2025 financial year, the BMW Group said it had incurred research and development costs for the Neue Klasse models such as the new iX3, as well as for successors to the X5 and X7.

It gave no further indication of when the new models will arrive, but documents sent to US dealers previously suggested the new X7 would arrive in 2027, a year after the new X5.

Autocar understands it will be underpinned by an upgraded version of the Cluster Architecture (CLAR) structure that is used for the existing X7, as well as the 7 Series and i7 saloons.

The update will allow the new X7 to offer an electric powertrain for the first time, with the smaller iX5 set to adopt new-generation electric drive units, round-cell batteries and an 800V electrical architecture.

“We are in a phase where flexibility is required,” BMW R&D boss Frank Weber previously told Autocar. “We have to detach ourselves from how we have perceived platforms up to now. 

“There is an increasing realisation that the art of mastering diversity in your portfolio lies in how you use and network major components – engines, motors, battery cells, on-board computers, control units, app functions, and software upgrades.

“It’s not so much the platform structure itself but the individual components and how you use them.”

The new X7 will be but one pillar in a completely revitalised line-up. Starting from the launch of the new iX3 at this year’s Munich motor show, BMW will replace or substantially update every single model in its range, rolling out the Neue Klasse design language and technologies.

BMW Group design boss Adrian van Hooydonk told Autocar: “We will make sure that the form language that we are developing now – and starting this year at the IAA [Munich show] with the first of the Neue Klasse vehicles – will be rolled out over the entire product portfolio, leaving no car behind. Of course, it would not be good for us or for our customers if there would be a new type of BMW and a ‘classic’ type of BMW. We’re going to change the look and feel of the BMW brand.”

However, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the 4 Series and 8 Series.

Autonomous and semi-autonomous cars bring with them new methods of safety testing. What happens, for example, if a tyre deflates suddenly when the car is doing the driving rather than the human and how well will it cope?

US firm Koala Technologies has developed a new piece of equipment that enables a road tester to deflate a tyre by remote control from within the car. The kit meets the requirements of existing regulations, including the FMVSS 110 US federal standard.

Specifically, this US regulation is intended to ensure tyres have sufficient load-carrying capacity and are appropriate for the kind of use the vehicle gets. It also verifies that a tyre remains on the rim when it deflates at speed.

Koala Technologies’ new kit also meets the emerging standards for EV lateral stability tests with and without the motor engaged, which are already mandatory in some markets, such as China.

Called the Te.Sense Bloom, the kit is mounted to the wheel of a vehicle, which could be a car or larger, and has a central air ejector valve with a volume and flow capacity designed to emulate a sudden loss of pressure due to tyre failure.

The equipment is plumbed into the inside of the tyre by tubes and connectors screwed into the rim. When the operator presses a button, the valve opens, causing instant deflation, just as if the tyre suffered a real-world blowout.

The equipment is designed to be a reusable turnkey system that gives repeatable results.

Koala says the kit has a number of advantages over existing methods, which usually involve destroying multiple tyres. A traditional approach taken at proving grounds is to drive a vehicle so that two wheels on one side run over a series of aggressive ‘cleats’, which rapidly deflate and destroy a pair of tyres.

There are two problems with that. One is that stability tests may require one tyre to be deflated, leaving the other three intact, so deflating two on one side may not work for certain tests. The other is the cost and sustainability issue of trashing two tyres instead of one.

Te.Sense Bloom avoids that and can be installed on any corner of the vehicle. Although it involves modifications to one of the car’s rims to install the connectors and tubes from the central valve, Koala provides a wheel set-up service, if testers want it.

Rapid tyre deflation can be triggered from inside a vehicle or remotely and works with tyre pressures of up to 100psi and at up to 87mph.

It also accurately captures the tyre pressure data, which can be used for detailed analysis of the vehicle and tyre behaviour when the tyre deflates.

And that unusual name? It’s got nothing to do with cars or tyres. The maker chooses aquatic names for its products and Bloom relates to the appearance of algae in oceans and waterways.

Sports cars are some of the most desirable vehicles a petrolhead can own. 

First developed to bring some of the speed and excitement of early motorsport machines to the regular driver on the road, the sports car genre is almost as old as the car itself. 

Nowadays, the best sports cars are more mature and can be driven every day. What's best is there's still a host of options on the market and the sports car is still going strong, despite the automotive industry's gradual switch to electric-only power. 

Several car makers – like BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Alpine – are still heavily invested in the sports car world, using their expertise to produce some seriously capable models. 

Thankfully, sports cars are still a traditional offering, with petrol power and high performance. Even as many other segments undergo rapid change, this one still deals with big power, lightweight engineering, high-revving combustion engines and outstanding handling dynamism.

But which sports cars are truly the best? We've listed our top picks in the full-sized sports car world right here, each with deep-chested acceleration and uplifting handling, and just as at home on the open road as they are on track. 

We think the best sports car on sale today is the Alpine A110, but you will have to read on to find out why. Read on as we list the best sports cars still on sale in 2025.