BMW has released a teaser for the 2017 5-series, and though it is very scant in details, it does offer a glimpse of one of the elements of the German luxury sedan – its LED tail-lights.

The sleeker and more fluid tail-lights will be fitted onto a car that, as test mules suggest, will be a shrunken version of the latest 7-series.

The new 5-series will be built on BMW’s new CLAR (Cluster Architecture), which utilises a large amount of aluminium, resulting in weight shedding of 80-100kg. Globally, it will be powered by a range of four-cylinder and six-cylinder diesel engines in various states of tune for the regular cars, a plug-in hybrid system for the eco-conscious variant and a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 for the M5.

Keeping in line with the shrunken-7-series theme, the new 5-series will be fitted with a range of tech that has filtered down from the big Beemer, including a range of autonomous driving functions, laser headlights as well as gesture control. Some reports suggest that BMW will lift the cover off the new 5-series at this month’s Paris motor show, while some suggest that it will be unveiled separately sometime in October, and yet others say it will make its debut in January’s Detroit auto show.