REMEMBER the date: November 15, 2008. That's when BMW puts the new 7 Series on sale in Britain This fifth-generation, top-of-the-range Beamer is set to beat everything else in the luxury car market and raise the benchmark for automotive excellence.

The 7 Series is so crammed with world firsts that it will undoubtedly spawn a shower of copycat technology among lesser motoring mortals. Parking, for instance, will get the help of side view cameras. These are in addition to parking sensors, providing an extra level of awareness for anyone handling a car that is a little over five metres long, and almost two metres wide.

Two forward-facing cameras will make driving through narrow driveway gates a piece of cake - they will also prove a boon at tricky junctions.

Then there is the option of having night-vision cameras - a control unit analyses video data of human behaviour, and will alert the driver if it detects a human moving into the path of the vehicle.

Lane departure warning systems have already been seen on BMW 5 and 6 Series models, but the new 7 adds lane change warning to this, using sensors to warn the driver of the presence of another vehicle up to 60 metres away.

When an approaching car is detected, a triangular symbol appears in the door mirrors - it will prove an invaluable tool for eliminating motorway blind spots.

Forward sensors can also be specified to alert drivers to an upcoming change in the speed limit - this is one of the first production car to be able to read road signs.

Finally, there is the option of speed-related active steering. It is a little like four-wheel steering, as it allows the rear wheels to turn by up to three degrees for a more manoeuvrable car at slow speeds, while further up the rev counter the BMW 7 Series has greater composure and better driving dynamics.

The innovations, whether standard or optional, will not be cheap, and while BMW has yet to reveal precise pricing details, expect the new 7 Series line-up to sell for between £55,000 and £90,000.

Take a top-spec 7 Series, with all the options added, and you will easily be looking at £100,000-plus.

BMW says the best-seller in Britain will be the 730d, with the 3.0-litre straight-six diesel engine accounting for 85 per cent of all of the new model's sales.

It is easy to see why: the 2,993cc powerplant posts the lowest ever CO2 figure of any previous BMW 7 Series, and it is also the most economical 7 Series ever.

Emissions are 192g/km, a class-leading figure for conventionally powered luxury cars, and no other premium competitor comes close to the 730d's 39.2mpg combined consumption figure.

That's good going for a big machine that can accelerate from zero to 62mph in 7.2 seconds, and which has a 153mph top speed.

Finally, if something longer, lower and meaner is preferred, then keep an eye out for the Lexus LF-A, a luxury supercar that will be seen for the first time in the UK at the British International Motor Show, London, next week.

This 200mph supercar comes powered by a high-revving V10 front/mid-mounted engine that produces about 500 horsepower and the bodywork is crafted from aluminium and carbon-fibre, with the rear section including a speed-activated spoiler.

Motoring costs may be soaring, but it will not slow the rush for this beauty with a beast of an engine when it finally does appear in Lexus showrooms.