Theissen: F1.07 'best car yet'

"It is the best car we have ever done, if it is good enough to achieve our targets we will see in the coming days," said Theissen.

"We are looking forward to the first track test and first comparison with our rivals."

The German squad are looking to break into the top four in the championship after finishing in fifth place in the 2006 season, scoring two podium finishes thanks to Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, who remain in the team for 2007.

BMW raced under its own name for the first time last year, having taken over the Sauber team at the end of 2005.

Technical director Willy Rampf says the new F1.07 had met all the goals they set when they started to design it.

"The car is exactly as we wanted it, we are in the process of having the first development steps in plan," explained Rampf. "We set internally our targets with regard to weight, aero efficiency and happy we achieved all our internal targets, and now we see if that is good enough compared to the opposition.

"For the chassis develop we had two main targets, one to increase aero efficiency and to be flexible enough for Bridgestone - a wider range for weight distribution and set-up. On aero, the whole car is basically a new development.

"The complete front wing is a new development, the nose is much shorter compared to F1.06. The chassis is higher, target to get a better airflow under the floor and have an increase in aero efficiency.

"The sidepod and radiator duct inlet area we paid a lot of attention, there are a lot more details compared to F1.06 - that's a result of wind tunnel testing. We also revised the complete cooling system, last year it was a bit marginal, here we increase radiator duct and efficiency.

"At rear end we tried to make the car as narrow as possible and when you see the gearbox and fairing, you will see if it not possible to go much closer to gearbox to be tighter."

For the first time, the car will feature a seamless shift gearbox designed and built by BMW, and the team are confident it will be ready for the first race of the season in Melbourne.

BMW said the second F1.07 chassis is almost complete.

The new car will hit the track for a shakedown this afternoon at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.